Finding the Colored Yin Yang
by iLOVEsanMYsis
Summary: They were always missing something, always knew something was amiss. Taniyama Mai and Shibuya Kazuya knew they were missing something critical in their lives...they just didn't know what it was. If only they knew how close they really were to finding out.
1. Chapter 1

I hope you guys all enjoy this. This was originally done on a message board in a role playing format (all I'm doing is going through and putting it in story format), and I'd like to thank my friend for helping us get this far! Thanks so much!

The beginning of the first chapter (where 3rd person is introduced) begins on episode 19 of the anime (with some minor changes), but after this chapter, it branches off completely and does not follow the anime any longer.

Enjoy!

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_**Finding the Colored Yin Yang  
Prologue**_

_I couldn't move. I was frozen in place. I wanted to scream. A few feet away, I heard the door creak open, and two men in white lab coats stepped into the room, their faces obscured in shadow._

_"Ayako! Masako!" I wanted to scream, but I couldn't even open my mouth to try and scream. The words wouldn't come out. They lifted me up and out of my bed, and dragged me away from my friends. I could see them, sleeping peacefully, blissfully unaware of what was happening to me. I couldn't help but feel that it was the last time I was going to see them as the men dragged me from the room by my arms, the door slowly closing behind them._

_I wasn't sure where they were taking me. I couldn't see where we were going. Everything passed in a blur. Maybe there was a hallway, a room with a fireplace, a garden, but I wasn't sure. And then there were stairs. Never-ending stairs._

_When we reached the bottom, there was a huge door. They turned me so that I could see now. My legs were finally beginning to work, but I could barely move them enough to put my feet beneath me. The door was gigantic. It towered over me. And then it opened, and I felt like I wanted to be sick._

_The room was covered in tile, the walls, the floor, the ceiling, everything. There was a bathtub filled with something dark, and there were red spatters all over the floor and the walls. And then, there was a silver exam table. They began to drag me towards it._

_My foot touched something wet and my foot looked down. Oh god. I __**was**__ about to be sick. Blood. I was stepping through blood. What was going on? Where the hell was I?!_

_They heaved me up on the table, and I felt like I wanted to cry. Nothing before had ever scared me so much. Despite my body's resistance to move, they tied me down to the table, starting with my feet and working their way up. And then the slammed my head back down, catching the back of my skull hard on the sharp metal end, which was wet and slick with blood. I wanted to scream, but my voice wasn't working yet. I could move my hands now. The only thing I could do, though, was ball them into fists. I shut my eyes tight._

_When I could bear to open them again, I looked over. One of the men was holding a knife already covered with wet and dry blood. They were coming closer. Why couldn't I move?!_

_The knife was placed against my neck. I could feel the blade on my skin. And then, finally, I could scream, and God, did I scream...but no one would ever hear my voice as the man in the white coat sliced the blade through my neck._

_I was never going to be seen again, and worst of all..._

_No one was ever going to know what had happened to me._

_Lucky them._

_**Chapter 1**_

With a scream, she sat bolt up right in bed. She continued screaming, over and over again, her hands coming up to claw at her bare neck, to see if there was any blood, any cut, any damage, any single thing amiss. It had been too real to have been a dream. There was more to it than just a dream...right?

"Mai!"

Ayako's voice. Wait…Ayako?

"Mai, calm down..."

Calm down? Ayako was asking too much. But then, Mai's screams broke as a sharp slap whipped across her cheek. She stopped screaming, just sitting there for a moment before she burst into tears. She could feel arms wrapping around her and all she could do was clutch at the older woman's pajamas and cry.

Not even seconds after Mai had begun to cry, there was pounding on the door to the room.

"Hey, open up!" came a frazzled voice from the other side of the door before it opened. Mai recognized it immediately to be the monk's, Hosho's, though he was mostly referred to as just 'Monk.'

"Is everything all right in here?" asked the same voice as a trio of men ran into the room. The one in front, a twenty-something with shaggy, shoulder-length butterscotch hair, soft brown eyes, and a double-pierced left ear asked as soon as he'd run inside.

He looked tense as his eyes quickly scanned the room and fell upon Mai and Ayako on the bed.

"What happened, Mai?" the monk asked after a moment, his eyes showing concern for the young woman in the priestess' arms.

When Mai didn't answer immediately, Ayako looked to the monk, biting her lip. She was about to speak when Mai suddenly stopped her sobs. As always, she was forcing her own emotions back.

Ayako sighed. Stupid Mai…

"A dream…" she whispered, still clutching at Ayako's shirt. "More like a nightmare..."

Tears filled her eyes again, and Ayako was ready to begin comforting the girl if she started to cry again, concern in her dark eyes.

If at all possible, Hosho's expression grew softer as he watched the tears welling in her gaze after hearing her words. She was so young, too young to have to hold back like this when she must have been so terrified…that much was easy to tell just by her screams.

That scream had been enough to wake the dead…

But the monk was amazed by her, really. It was very easy to tell her strengths, her weaknesses, her concern and love. She was so easy to read.

"So…" he began, voice soft, "was it one of _those_ dreams?" He knew that everyone present would know what he was talking about. Mai's dreams had helped them solve cases before…so maybe she'd just had one now. It would be a nice break.

Mai didn't look up from Ayako's shirt as she slowly nodded, fighting the quivering of her jaw in an attempt to keep her voice steady.

"Yeah, I think so…" she whispered, her voice shaking as her grip tightened slightly on Ayako's shirt. The priestess lifted a hand and placed it over Mai's, gently squeezing it to reassure her that she wasn't alone.

"Can you tell us what happened?" one of the three that run come inside, a young man named Yasu, asked.

It was then that Mai moved her hand away from Ayako's shirt and she hugged herself, her body trembling with shivers again and shaking with suppressed sobs.

"I dreamt…" she began, her voice shaking still, "that I was being killed…two men came in…" A flash from her nightmare lit up her vision before it disappeared again. "And they dragged me to a strange room…covered with tiles… Again, another vision like before. "And then…" The bloody knife filled her eyes before she saw Ayako's shirt again. "When they cut me…it felt like there was a thin trail of ice over the skin on my neck…blood – "

She stopped as she felt a hand atop her head, her eyes widening slightly as she was taken out of the memory.

"That's enough," he whispered in a soft, compassionate tone, his voice said. He hoped that his hand and his voice would help to calm her fears. "I didn't mean for you to relive it…"

He stood there for another moment or so before the door opened behind him. Two more men stepped in, one around Mai's age, and the other more around Hosho's. The younger had a jacket around his shoulders, holding it up and closed with one hand while the other hand held a teacup.

Mai lifted her head when the door opened, looking over to see who was the late arrival. They widened slightly at seeing the two men, and she sniffed a bit as he came closer.

"Naru…" she whispered, looking up at him as he came over, her eyebrows knit together in confusion. What was Naru doing here? Did he actually care?

He came closer to where she was sitting o the bed with Ayako, Hosho stepping back a bit to allow him access to the girl. After a moment of standing there, he handed her the cup of tea, his eyes looking sleepy and…sad?

She took the cup of tea from him and smelled it lightly, the strong scent of the tea calming her taught muscles. She took a long sip of it, and, though it helped her relax, she wasn't calmed completely by it. She would never admit it aloud, not wanting to burden the others with her problems, but her mind wouldn't stop replaying the nightmare.

"You okay?" she heard Naru"s soft voice ask her, and she looked up at him. She slowly nodded. She'd lie to any of them in a heartbeat if it meant they wouldn't worry about her. The last thing any of them needed to do on a case was worry about her.

"Yeah. I'll be fine," she told him and smiled. "Thank you."

Hosho watched the situation carefully from where he stood, his eyes soft. After a moment or two, though, he couldn't repress a yawn, stretching widely, his mouth open.

"Geez, Monk, you couldn't be at least a little more respectful here?"

Hosho gave Ayako a friendly glare. "Sorry. It is really early in the morning though, you know," he said after he could breathe from the yawn.

Mai's eyes slipped down to the floor, feeling terrible now after hearing that. She had wken them up.

"How can you be exhausted?" Ayako demanded.

"Hey, I didn't see _you_ giving us a hand helping with the floor plans to this place. I'm exhausted," Hosho said through another yawn, covering his mouth this time.

"That still doesn't give you th – "

"Be quiet both of you," Naru said, his voice hushed, annoyed. "You aren't children."

Hosho and Ayako both sighed then, realizing how they had been acting. Ayako looked away while Hosho rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

"Sorry," they both murmured.

Hosho's brown eyes then turned back to Mai.

"Do you think you could get back to sleep? Do you want one of us to stay with you?"

Ayako glared a bit at him, cleared her throat, and gestured to the other two beds in the room. "I think Masako and I have that covered."

"I wasn't asking you," Hosho glared, turning back to Mai, waiting patiently for her answer.

"I'll be fine," she whispered quietly, putting the tea back on the side table. "I'll try to go back to sleep…"

"Ok…if you're sure," the monk replied, still eying her warily.

"Try and have a pleasant dream this time," he added, starting to follow the other guys out of the room.

"I'll try," Mai said after him, not looking up from the bed sheets. Hearing her, Hosho lingered in the doorway, however, as everyone was saying their good nights to each other out in the hall. The only one who waited was Lin, whose eyes were locked on Naru's back, who was still standing by Mai's bed.

"Are you sure you'll be alright now?" he asked, his eyes locked on hers.

"Yeah, I'll be fine, Naru…" she whispered, but she didn't look up at him. She began to slowly lie back down, curling up under her sheets as though she were trying to hide.

Naru, seeing that she was going to sleep, turned and, after grabbing the leftover tea from the side of the bed, walked out. Lin waited for him to walk out the door before he started to follow after him.

However, Naru stopped beside Hosho, who was still in the door. The monk looked down at him, his eyebrows knit together in confusion.

"If you really don't want to leave, you don't have to," Naru told him in a surprisingly soft voice. "Yasu is with John, so they will be all right." And then he and Lin were gone down the hall.

Mai opened her eyes one last time and her eyes fell on Hosho, who was still standing in the door. She locked gazes with him before she closed her eyes again and tried to go back to sleep, despite the images of her nightmare covering the backs of her eyelids, as Ayako turned off the light so they could all go back to sleep.

Hosho was staring after Lin and Naru for a moment in amazement, not having known that their young boss had a heart, before he took a step back into the room. He placed his back on the wall and slid down it, letting out a sigh as he did. Of course, he was fine with this. He just wanted to make sure Mai would be ok. She'd looked so scared, and he didn't want to leave her alone…even though she was with Ayako and Masako.

Mai just lay there, though, unable to sleep, even as the two other girls lay down and were out like lights. An hour later - she knew how long it had been, she'd been counting the minutes - she opened her eyes again to look over to where Hosho was still sitting.

"You're still here?" she whispered, not wanting to wake either of the others.

Hosho looked up at hearing her soft voice. Because it was dark in the room, he could only just see Mai's form on one of the beds, the whites of her big eyes watching her. He nodded in response.

"Yeah," he said quietly.

"And you're still awake," he shot back then in a gentle tone, his voice soft. "Don't worry, Mai, no one's going to be coming through here to grab you while I'm here. You're safe." He smiled gently. "Just go ahead and go back to sleep."

"You make it sound so easy," Mai whispered, her voice shaking again, sighing as she sat up. She hugged herself, pulling her knees up to her chest. After doing so, she patted the bed, motioning for him to come and sit beside her.

Hosho got up at that and walked over, treading as softly as he could over to Mai's bed.

He sat down beside where he could see the darkened form of the young girl, in the free space she'd indicated.

"You do need to get some sleep, you know," he said, smiling a little to her in the dark. "Better now than when we really need you on the investigation, right?" He chuckled quietly, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

"But…I can't sleep…" Mai whispered in a shaking voice, tears brimming in her eyes as she looked up at Hosho in the dark. "Every time I close my eyes…all I see is them…"

Hearing the trembling in her voice, Hosho's eyes went softer.

"Hey…" he murmured, reaching over to gently pull her over to his big shoulder. At the action, she moved closer to him and closed her eyes. "It's alright…"

After another few moments of silence, he added, "Nothing's going to get you with me here."

As he sat there beside her, his mind reeling with ideas of how he could calm her tears – he always hated to see her cry – , he remembered something that his mother used to do when he was a child. Turning to her, he began to run his fingers through her short brown hair, chanting a few warding spells in a soft, musical tone.

He wasn't about to let Mai even feel like she was in danger anymore.

His soft, whispering voice in her ear soothed her and calmed her fears, and, within moments, she was asleep, her hand lightly fisting around his shirt. Even in her sleep, it appeared that she didn't even want to be alone.

Hosho smiled at feeling Mai calm against him, and ended his chant in a very soft whisper. Not wanting to disturb Mai too much, he let her keep hold of his shirt as he laid her back down under the blankets.

Because of her grip, this brought him down beside her, on top of those same blankets, but at her side.

A soft smile came to his face. Ever since that date in the park they'd had to go on to solve a case and help out one of Mai's friends – and consequently Masako's – , he'd felt better beside her, despite any difference in age between them.

He was just happy to actually be able to protect some one, and live up to those expectations of him back home.

"Sleep well, Mai," he murmured, closing his eyes. He knew that as soon as he fell asleep the barrier he'd put around her would drop, but he felt secure in the fact that he'd wake up in time to protect her should something actually come after Mai again, dream or no dream.

And then, within a few minutes of lying beside Mai and listening to her quiet breaths, he was asleep, too.

xXx

The next morning, the sound that woke Mai was someone loudly clearing their throat.

She jumped and gasped lightly, looking around wildly until her eyes settled on the person.

Ayako was standing by the bed, her arms crossed over her chest with an eyebrow raised. She motioned with her head to what was beside Mai and the girl looked. There was a bright blush on her cheeks, making her head look like a ripe tomato, as she noticed Hosho sleeping beside her and she moved away quickly. However, the damage had already done.

Ayako and Masako were now covering their mouths, giggling to themselves as they turned away to finish getting dressed.

Hosho groaned at the sound of the giggling, and at the loss of warmth he'd so recently experienced. He reached his arm out and found Mai still within reach, but much farther away than before.

He opened one eye, and then the other, and tiredly rubbed at them with his other hand.

"Mn…wha…?" he grumbled as he started to sit up himself…only to really understand the reason that Masako and Ayako were giggling.

His face turned a bright pink.

"_H-hey_! D-don't get the wrong idea! I was trying to help her sleep! That's all!" he defended.

"Riiight, Monk," Masako giggled. She and Ayako were already dressed.

"You two better get dressed, breakfast is ready," Ayako giggled as she headed for the door. Mai was still blushing, and now she was beginning to get up and dig through her bag to find something presentable to wear for breakfast.

But again, her mood was already plummeting. The nightmare from before was racing through her mind, replaying and repeating over and over again, and she could still feel the blade slicing through her neck every time she closed her eyes.

Still looking pretty embarrassed, himself, Hosho got up off of the bed. He shook his head, feeling that Mai was still in the dumps after last night, watching her back as she dug through her bag. Her shoulders were slumped…he could tell she felt like crap, for lack of a better word.

He couldn't say he blamed her, though. That had sounded like a horrible dream…or nightmare.

"Hey, did you sleep ok?" he asked, wanting to make sure before he went to go change in the other room that he was supposed to be sharing with Yasu and John.

"Yeah," Mai whispered quietly, but she did''t look at him as she headed for the bathroom, her head down, eyes to the ground. "Thanks…Monk…"

And then she went into the bathroom and leaned her head back against the wall, closing her eyes. Something wasn't right. She looked up at the ceiling, fighting against the tears that wanted to flow down her cheeks.

Out in the room, she could hear silence before she heard Hosho sigh, and then she heard the soft footsteps of his feet, and then the closing of the door behind him as he left.

When she was sure she wasn't going to cry, Mai shakily began to pull on her clothes and brush her teeth. Afterward, she looked in the mirror, and in her eyes she could see the terrifying image of the men in their white coats. She looked away and began to make her way towards the dining room by herself, sighing quietly.

Behind her, Hosho was returning, fully dressed.

"Hey, Mai, wait up!" he called, moving forward to catch up with her. Every time he did, though, she seemed to speed up in front of him. "Mai! Hey!" She began to turn down the wrong hallway to go to the dining room, and that caused him confusion, and even a little concern. "That's the wrong way…where're you going?"

Mai stopped then, blinking a few times. She could hear Hosho behind her, jogging now to catch up now that she had stopped. She had only heard the last of what he'd said…when had he come up behind her? She looked up at Hosho, a confused look on her face.

"Monk…" she whispered, blinking as she looked around and then back up at him. She knew that this wasn't the way to the dining room…where had she been going?

"Yeah, it's me," Hosho said, voice soft, hands resting gently on her shoulders when he caught up to her, looking down at her.

"You're going completely the wrong way…you ok? You should know this house front to back with all the measurements we've been taking…where were you going?" he added, turning her around to walk with her back the other way.

"I don't…I don't know, Monk…" Mai whispered, looking up at him. She looked back and over her shoulder, and a flash from her dream hit her like a truck and she stopped, still looking down the hallway.

"It's that way…" she whispered quietly.

Hosho looked over his shoulder when he heard her say that.

"The room?" he asked, looking down at her then. He had a suspicious feeling that caused him to bite his lip and keep Mai close to him. "We should probably go check it out…but with reinforcements. Let's go eat, first. We can tell the others and go looking later… maybe we can find Suzuki-chan… that is the only direction I don't think anyone's looked."

Mai just silently nodded as he began to lead her back toward the dining room. She was silent the entire way there, and when they got there breakfast was already underway. She sat down in her seat, but she didn't do anything but look at her plate. She wasn't hungry at all.

"Hey, you've got to eat Mai…" Hosho said when he noticed halfway through his meal that she hadn't touched hers, blushing a bit at the snickers he gained from Akayo and Masako, who had no doubt told the others about what had happened, by now.

"I can't…I can't stop thinking about that nightmare…" Mai whispered in reply with a shake of her head, not looking up. She didn't want them all to see the fear in her eyes.

Just as she said that, Yasu, on Hosho's side of the table, picked up his head.

"What does everyone think about this theory…" he began, looking around at the entire group. "We know there's a chance that Suzuki and Atsugi have passed on, so could your dream have been an accurate representation of what they suffered at the hands of this unknown killer?"

John looked to him in disbelief. "A dream that's... telepathic?" he asked in his highly accented voice, his eyebrows up in shock.

"If that's the case, then they have both been murdered, right?" Ayako asked.

As the theory had popped up, Hosho had been looking around, lost in the thought of it all. His eyes focused then though.

"This may sound crazy, but…" he began, his gaze shifting to where two of the staff members were tidying up the dishes from the others who'd eaten earlier, placing them on a tray to cart out to be washed in the kitchens. "But is there any chance that the people working here are up to something?" He looked to Mai when made an inquisitive noise. "Just think of the situation. The employees have been working here for a full week and nothing's happened to them. We've only been here three days and two people have already disappeared."

That line of thinking got Yasu's gears turning again. "Now that you mention it…no one associated directly with the house has disappeared."

"So…only outsiders to the house are the ones being affected," Mai said, looking over at Hosho.

"Wait a minute, what about this?" John began. "Is it possible that the spirits prefer people of a certain age? All the staff is of the older group…everyone that's disappeared has been younger!"

Mai gasped, staring wide eyed at John.

"Oh man, you're right…why didn't we think of that before?" Hosho exclaimed. "That makes perfect sense…"

"It was only because Atsugi looked so wasted and tired all the time that we all probably thought he was much older," Yasu replied. "We should get back to base right away and explain this."

Mai nodded and slowly began to stand. Her plate was completely untouched, but she wasn't about to eat. She wasn't hungry, and this was just the excuse to not eat.

"Let's go, then," Mai said.

Once they got back to the room where all of SPR's equipment was set up, the group explained the going's on to Naru, and all of the theories that were making some real sense.

All the while, dressed in black as usual, Naru was leaning up against the table where his and Lin's computers were, arms folded across his chest.

"Good work. Yasu, Mai," he began, looking to Omasu and Mai as they stood close together, "make sure you're never alone while in this house."

He then turned his cool attention to Ayako. "Priestess, how much faith can I entrust in you?" he asked.

Ayako looked pretty offended, hand on her hip as she asked, "What exactly do you mean by that?"

"It's become very dangerous here and Yasu is unable to defend himself. I need people I can rely on to protect him under any circumstances."

The priestess sighed then. "Okay. I understand."

"So to what extent can I count on you?"

Ayako looked down then, as if embarrassed, and said with a sigh, "Just some warding magic."

Naru didn't seem too pleased with that. "That's not good enough. Masuzaki-chan and Hara-chan, you two cannot leave each other's sight. I know you focus mainly on being a medium, but you can at least protect yourself, right?"

Masako didn't even nod as she replied, "I can."

It was then that Naru turned to Hosho and John where they were standing by the window. "Monk, John, the two of you will protect Yasu."

"Got it," John replied with a nod.

"Right," Hosho added, pumping his fist in the air.

"But who will protect Mai?" Masako asked then. "Unless…"

"Lin," Naru stated simply, causing Lin's fingers to halt in their movement across the keyboard of his laptop, "will be protecting Mai."

"But Naru!" Lin protested immediately, standing up with such force that he nearly knocked his chair over, causing him to grab the back of it to prevent the action. "Who will be looking after _you_?" He stood up completely and pushed the chair back so he could stalk determinedly towards Naru. "Don't forget, _you_ can't perform warding magic!"

Mai bit her lip. That was right…Naru wasn't a spiritualist. He was a paranormal investigator and researcher…

"What're you gonna do?" she demanded in a quiet voice, her eyes slightly wide.

"I'll manage," Naru said simply, his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes closed in confidence.

"You're out of your mind!" Lin hissed in annoyance. "You need to have some protection." He turned and motioned to John. "Takegawa will cover Yasu. Father Brown will be protecting Mai, all right?" he demanded, looking back at Naru.

"Monk can't handle it alone," Naru said coolly. He just had a comeback for everything any of the others could send at him. Always had, always will.

But, the wording didn't go without causing offense. Hosho took a menacing step toward Naru before Lin's glare stopped him.

"Hey man," he growled, raising a fist in the air instead. How dare this little punk insult him. Sure, half the time he turned out to be right, but still. "I'm no amateur."

Naru just seemed to ignore him however, beginning to speak before Hosho had even stopped.

"I don't think you understand the danger here." He closed his eyes, as if anticipating something, just before Lin stepped in front of what would have been Naru's line of sight.

"Then send one of _them_ away," he said, his voice acidic when he mentioned the others, of course talking about either Yasu or Mai again. At hearing this, knowing it was directed at her, Mai looked offended, and was about to say something when Lin spoke again.

"I cannot allow you to be alone in this house!" Lin was saying, almost pleading.

Hosho's anger seemed to fade a bit then as well, and he stood more straight, watching to see what the outcome would be of this.

"If you were to come to harm on a job," Lin began, looking down at Naru, who seemed to want the lecture to be over more than anything. His eyes were still closed, as if he were ignoring Lin completely as he finished with, "Then how would you expect me to explain that to the professor?"

That got Naru's attention. He looked straight up and into Lin's eyes.

"Think of how your father would feel if that happened!" Lin continued.

"Lin," Naru's voice was like an icy razor when he spoke next. "If you don't like the way I conduct my investigations, then leave." His wording was finite. The discussion ended there, and would go no farther, period.

But Lin wouldn't have it.

"How quickly you seem to forget," he glowered, glaring down his nose at Naru. "My main objective here is to protect _you_ at all costs."

Everyone stared at Lin in shock, Mai's jaw even going slack, her eyes wide as she looked, agape, at Lin. What the hell was he talking about?

Was he a bodyguard or something?

"I'll volunteer," Yasu said then, raising his hand.

"Right," Naru said. "Problem solved."

He then looked over at Lin. "You should probably call a cab."

Lin nodded, turning to do just that.

xXx

That night, they all stood in their central control room.

"This house is built up higher in its center. The floors first level slopes upwards towards the center, leaving it about two meters higher than the perimeter of the structure. Judging from the placement of the windows, it looks like the owner added rooms and increased the overall size outward from its center. That's about everything we know up to this point," Lin said as he looked to his computer screen, the rest of the team reading from the papers that Lin had given them moments before.

Naru flipped his page, looking over the data that was written on it.

"What we don't know," he began, "is what's inside this empty section."

"If it's a hidden room it's gigantic," Hosho said, gazing at the print outs Lin had given them of the maps they'd all helped to make.

"But," John started, looking over at Hosho and sharing a glance with him, "we've searched all over and there doesn't seem to be a way inside."

That got a nod from the priest. That was right…this place was build like a maze going out…but the real puzzle was inside, and getting in there was just one of the tricks to the case.

How were they going to find out about what was going on?

Naru straightened then.

"What if the way inside doesn't actually exist?" Him saying something so cryptic – even for Naru – got a confused 'huh?' out of the assembled group. "Well, what if this area wasn't originally intended to be hidden but was sealed later?"

"But why would they do that?" Mai asked, confused. "What's the point of it?"

"The room must have had a purpose at some point in time," Ayako said, looking down at her paper. "I don't see why they'd want to keep building around the room if they didn't want to hide it."

"But what would be the point of hiding it?" Mai pressed. This really seemed to be bothering her, especially since the mystery of the hidden room seemed to remind her so much of her nightmare. "What was so bad about the room that they had to hide it?"

"This house is definitely hiding something…but it's pretty clear that whatever's causing the disappearances has to be linked to that room," Hosho said. "It would be big enough to hide bodies in if something could get in there."

"But that's just it…there's no entrances," John repeated.

"Not that we know of. We've all seen it; this place is like a maze. We've already found one hidden space, why wouldn't there be more?" Hosho went on.

"Maybe the way in is just hidden somewhere else that we haven't gotten to yet…what if it's deeper in that hidden space?"

"…" John couldn't come up with any sort of rebuttal that time.

"Ugh…you really don't expect me to go crawling through all that dust, do you?" Ayako asked, sounding exasperated.

"It sure would help," Mai said, but then she sighed at the glare Ayako sent her.

"Fine, you want me crawling around in there, I'll do it."

"Mai, no," Lin immediately protested.

"What? No one else is going to do it," Mai protested, her hands on her hips. "No one else is willing to try it."

"You're not going by yourself!" John protested then.

"Then who wants to come with me?" Mai demanded. "You?" she looked to John. "You?" she looked Ayako. They both shook their heads. "See? I'll just go by myself." And then she stalked off to the door, Hosho making a sound of protest as he turned to go after her.

"Hey, Mai, you didn't even give anyone a chance to volun – " Hosho began, only to have the door slam in his face.

"Oh…" he whimpered, hanging his head.

From where he stood, Naru sighed, shaking his head.

"It's just a door, idiot," he grumbled, and walked through it, following Mai before anyone, including Lin, could protest.

As she heard the door shut again, Mai looked back to see Naru following her. She blinked, looking confused as she stopped to wait for him.

"Naru?" she asked. "Why're you coming?"

"Well, I didn't want to be lumped in with those cowards back there," Naru said as he caught up with Mai.

"Besides, Lin pisses me off when he's like this, and what sort of boss would I be if I made you go off on your own and just sat around? No, I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty."

Mai smiled, blushing a bit.

"That's awful nice of you, Naru," she told him as they walked down the hall. She turned a corner, though, and she was grabbed. She screamed, but then her mouth was covered and the sound was cut off.

She could just barely see Naru get grabbed, too, but she couldn't scream again. The last thing she saw before they were dragged down a dark hallway was a flash of white coats.

Oh god…not again…

xXx

Back at base, Ayako lifted her head.

"Was that a scream?"

* * *

Wow, okay, this chapter was waaaay longer than I thought it was going to be...but I'm not going to worry about it now! :D It'll make you all happy!

So, okay, all the scenes from the episode are now gone. Everything branches off from here. Please review! I'll update in a few days, but the more reviews I get, the more likely I'll update sooner!

Thanks for reading! There's much more to come!


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks so much to those of you who reviewed last chapter, namely **Moons-chan**, **Emina105**, and **Ariana Taniyama**. Thanks again, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

And BY THE WAY, please _**READ THIS**_:

There will be a yaoi (slash/gay) pairing later in this story. It doesn't appear for a long while (at least eight chapters), but it is in there, and I am NOT going to take it out. That would be a dishonor to my writing partner and myself, and the pairing doesn't bother either of us. There will be explicit situations, but I will mark them appropriately and you do not have to read it if you don't like it. It is a long time before something comes up, but I just wanted to warn you. Please keep that in mind while reading in the future. I will mark the chapter that it first appears in.

Thanks, and enjoy!

* * *

_**Chapter 2**_

Back at base, Ayako lifted her head.

"Was that a scream?"

"Yeah…I heard it, to – " Hosho began, but he was cut off when, suddenly, the lights went out. Screams and cries that seemed to come from everywhere filled the room, and they began to look around, but it was too dark to see anything.

A minute later, the lights came back on, and there was blood writing in kanji all over the walls. It was everywhere.

"Woah!" Hosho grunted, blinking. "What the hell?!"

"What's going on?" Akayo asked, looking around, her eyes wide. Masako went over to the walls, looking closely at the writing. "Is that...blood?"

"Yes, it appears so," Masako answered for her.

"Oh no…_Mai_!" Hosho shouted, peeling out of the room then in the direction of the hidden room. As he turned the corner, he pulled his double-bladed mantra from his pocket, not slowing at all.

"Monk, hey!" Ayako called after him, but he was already out of sight. She sighed, turning to go look at Lin to see what the man thought about all this, but something breezed past her and she blinked, turning just in time to see Lin turning the corner, as well.

"Hey! You shouldn't be by yourself!" he hissed at him, but he, too, was looking at least a bit worried.

Hosho growled. "I don't care!" he yelled in anger back at Lin. The Chinaman could tell that the anger was only covering something…fear.

"You can't help her by running around blind!" Lin said, catching up to him and grabbing his arm, yanking him back to a stop. Hosho turned, glaring at him with his brown eyes, his chest heaving.

"What?!" Hosho growled. "Mai could be _dying _right now! What do you want?!"

"Let's go back to base," Lin said calmly.

"Why?!"

"To check the cameras in the hallways. If something happened to them, we'll see it on the cameras."

Lin could see Hosho's features softening slightly as he nodded. "Yeah…yeah, that would work…"

And with those words, Hosho was stalking back off toward base.

Lin sighed, following quickly behind him. He couldn't afford for anything to happen to Naru; his father would kill him. While he would never admit to it, he was really concerned for the young paranormal investigator. And it was his job to protect him, and at the moment he felt like he had failed.

xXx

Mai couldn't do anything, though she tried to struggle and fight, but nothing she did could help her escape.

She and Naru were pulled through a long series of doors and hallways, though Mai lost count of where they were. At one point, she got a clear view of who was dragging her and Naru. A group of men in white coats. Oh God…

_Try not to freak out, Mai_, came Naru's voice straight into the young girl's mind. Naru didn't even seem to be fighting back…which, to Mai, seemed very odd. Why wasn't he fighting back?

_It'll just make things worse._

Mai, though, didn't realize that Naru wasn't talking aloud.

"How can I not?!" she shrieked, still fighting against them as they began to drag her down a set of spiraling stairs. At one point, though, they switched from pulling her by her arms to her legs, and let her head hit each step the times they went down.

_Just trust me…_ Naru continued, closing his eyes in concentration. Mai noticed then that her head stopped hitting stairs on the way down the flight. They simply glided over them. _And shhh…don't speak. I can hear your thoughts…if you talk, things will get worse on our way down._

_Naru, what the hell?!_ Mai shrieked, though she was trying not to panic even more at this new development. What the hell was going on? How was Naru doing this? He was only a researcher, not a spiritualist!

_Naru, what's going on?_ she whimpered then, continuing to shake as they reached the bottom of this set of stairs and they stopped in front of a door before it opened again and the two were pulled further inside into the dark room. Mai, though, was dragged straight through something wet, and she screamed. She knew exactly what it was.

Blood.

She was shaking as she was thrown up onto that table, that icy table from her nightmare. She tried to get away as they began to strap her down, but she couldn't escape. She was just a moment too slow.

"Naru!" she screamed, tears streaming from her cheeks.

_I'll explain later_, Naru said as he was held up by the men in lab coats. There was only one table in the room, and with Mai strapped to it, that left him to be physically restrained by those who'd grabbed them.

Mai could see Naru now, and could tell that when he spoke his lips definitely weren't moving. He looked as if he were trying to concentrate, his eyes almost screwed shut. The violet orbs were not on her, however, but on the tub filled with dark fluid, a body just barely visible, bobbing within.

He, like Mai, could smell all the blood in the room, and knew that that was what that tub was filled with.

A realization clicked in his mind as he stared at the tub. The spirit had turned itself into a demon.

This was going to be interested.

_Or maybe Lin will explain. You're going to have to carry me out of here_, Naru told Mai, his eyes still on the tub.

"Naru!" Mai screamed again, but, as before, she was slammed back against the metal table and the back of her head slammed against the corner of the table. She let out a cry, but it came out as a half yelp, half sob.

She clenched her teeth, her eyes snapping shut. This hurt more than falling down the well back at the home where the mother had pulled her down the well. This hurt more than in her dream. She heard the quiet, sharp sound of a blade being sharpened, and she tried not to scream. This was terrifying her…more than anything had before. Not even the possessed doll had scared her this much.

Nothing else in the room moved other than Mai trying to escape and one of the white-clad men sharpening a knife.

_Naru, I'm so scared…what's going on?!_

_Calm down, Mai_, Naru told her.

_That knife will not touch you. You'll be free soon, just hold on_, he told her calmly. He could hear the knife being sharpened, too, but he was intently watching the tub full of blood. Inside of it, most of the body had sunk.

Only what could be called a head was sticking up out of the noxious liquid now. White, soulless eyes were staring a Mai as she lay on the table. A smile could just be seen over the blood level in the tub, as if it were giddy with anticipation.

_How the hell can I calm down when they're going to KILL me?!_ Mai shrieked, yelping in surprise as a cold hand grabbed her jaw, causing her mouth to shut and her head to tilt back. She looked to Naru, fear filling her wide, teary eyes.

She saw that stare he had on his face, and she just had to look to see what it was that was captivating his attention so much.

When she saw those white, soulless looking eyes staring at her, she somehow screamed. She screamed until the hand could clamp her mouth shut again.

_Naru!_ she screamed as the sound of the knife stopped and she could see it out of the corner of her eye.

It was then, with the knife just seconds from slitting Mai's throat, that Naru reacted. His eyes, which he had closed a moment before, snapped open.

Suddenly, there was a furious wind picking up in the room.

The men were sent flying from around himself and Mai, dissipating like the spirits that they were. At the same time, the latches on the straps holding Mai down opened.

She was free, but the demon in the tub still watched her, a grin on his face.

xXx

Up on the ground floor, Lin and Hosho were arriving back at base. Lin ran over to the computers.

"What is going on?" Masako demanded.

"Yeah, guys, tell us what's happening!" Ayako commanded.

"Please, tell us what's going on," John said in a questioning, concerned tone, but Lin ignored him as he began to type frantically on the keyboard of the mainframe, and all the cameras on the screens began to run backwards until he stopped it. He and Hosho watched them all, finding the base camera. There they all stood, arguing, in their base. He went forward a bit before he began to play it at regular speed again. Mai walked out of base, the door slammed, and Naru followed after her.

"There they go," he said, pointing, and followed their progress on the screens. And then, they turned down a hallway and the camera went to snow for a moment before it came back and they were being dragged down the hall by…nothing. And then snow on all the cameras connected to the hallways. "Damn it!"

"Dammit, where – " Hosho began, growling.

And then he felt it. A great power…like nothing he had ever felt before. What the hell was that? What could even possess so much power?

"Do you guys…feel that?" he asked in an almost awed whisper.

Lin froze as he heard Hosho's words and felt that surge of power. His chest clenched. He knew what that meant.

"Naru!" he shouted, turning to bolt from the room, Hosho taking off behind him.

xXx

Now it was just Naru, Mai, and the demon in the tub. It was standing now at its full height, his eyes on Naru as Mai struggled to escape off of the table, untangling herself from the straps. Gaunt as well as grotesque, all of the demon's bones could be see as it growled at them.

It was not happy at the prospect of its prey possibly get away. He wanted Mai's blood, and Naru's, so that he could live on.

"I don't want to die," he hissed in a growl, green fumes spilling from his mouth as he took a step forward.

Naru was breathing heavily as he watched it come closer to him, his fists clenching at his sides. The wind had died, and now the air was hot and heavy, and reeking of the blood.

"I don't want to die."

The young man stood there as the demon took another step closer before he rose one hand above his head. The second joined the first, holding the wrist for support as a glowing orb began to fade into existence in his grip.

"Go to hell," he growled, after a moment, throwing the ball of energy like a baseball. The demon had no time to move away, and seemed to be sucked into the ball before it disappeared.

And then, Naru collapsed.

"_Naru_!" Mai screamed as she finally freed herself, running for him. She picked him up into her arms as she skid to a stop on the slippery tile beside him, cradling him carefully to her chest.

She had tears streaming from her eyes, and she was shaking horribly. "N-Naru, say something! C'mon, Naru!"

Naru just lay there in Mai's arms, completely oblivious to her actions. He was down, and out for the count. He was barely breathing, his breaths shallow and rapid, hardly there at all, just like his heart beat.

"Naru…c'mon, wake up…wake up…" Mai continued, sobbing out the words, cradling him in her arms. She was terrified, and Naru was dying. She didn't know what to do…so she did the only thing she could do.

She began to get up and tried to pick Naru up. She slipped, though, and landed in blood flat on her ass. She was determined, however, as she grabbed him and began to half carry him, half pull him towards the door.

She got him out the door and began to pull him up the steps. However, because her shoes were still slick with blood, her foot slipped a few steps up and she tumbled down, feeling something snap in her ankle as she landed at the bottom.

Even with the pain searing through her foot, she continued to pull Naru up the stairs until she slipped again and landed beside him, feeling something else break somewhere else, but she didn't care. The tears were still streaming from her eyes that were locked on Naru's immobile face.

"C'mon…Naru…p-please…please don't die…Naru…" she whispered.

Mai whimpered as she lay beside Naru on the stairs. She could see the door at the top…she could _see_ it. She was so close…but she couldn't move anymore. Her leg wouldn't let her move, pain searing up from her ankle and knee. She was covered with blood that wasn't hers, and just the thought of that made her want to be sick.

She couldn't think of that just now, however. She had to get Naru out…

She reached over and put her hand around his, giving it a squeeze. "Just…stay alive, Naru…please, don't die…"

Thankfully, Naru seemed to be doing just as Mai had asked, unmoving as he was. He just laid there, still unconscious.

Above them, the door at the top of the stairs was flung open, and Mai's head jerked up, tears streaming from her eyes.

"Mai?! Is that you?" someone called.

"Monk...!" Mai gasped, looking up at him with her wide eyes. She wanted to sob with relief.

Lin breezed past Hosho and went down the stairs, stopping right by where Mai and Naru were. He checked Naru's neck for his pulse and looked to Mai.

"You did good, Mai," he said gruffly as he picked Naru up into his arms. Mai's hand slipped down from where she had been holding Naru's, watching as Lin went back up the stairs. "He's not dead yet." And then he was gone out the door.

As Lin was coming back up, Hosho was coming down.

"You're hurt…" he whispered as he got to her, seeing the dark of the blood against her clothes and skin.

"Can you walk?" he asked, kneeling on the stairs beside her. His voice was soft, concerned, and so were his gentle brown eyes.

"I-I don't think so…my leg…" Mai told him, beginning to shake again. She reached over and clutched onto him, burying her face into his chest. "I was so scared…! I really thought I was gonna die!" She held tightly onto him, her body shaking with sobs.

Hosho blinked softly as she held onto him, slowly putting his arms around her in return.

"Well, you're okay now, Mai," he whispered gently. "I'm sorry that you were so scared, we came as soon as we could." Gently, he scooped her up into his arms. "We're going to get you out of here, and all fixed up. Don't you worry, you're safe now. I've got you."

Mai just clutched onto him and cried, only grunting in pain as her leg was shifted as he picked her up. By the time he'd even gotten up to the top of the stairs, she had fallen asleep in his arms, the tears still wet on her cheeks.

xXx

Back at base, Lin charged inside.

"Call an ambulance!" he shouted roughly, running over to a table and sweeping his arm across the top to get everything off of it before he carefully laid Naru on it. He nearly ripped his jacket off and rolled it up into a ball, putting it under Naru's head.

Masako, Ayako and John stared at him in shock before John took off to find a phone and call an ambulance, just as Lin told them to.

Now that he was in a better, lighter place, he began to check Naru to make sure that he really wasn't about to die.

But, unfortunately, by this time, Naru seemed to have gotten worse. His breaths were even shallower now than it had been on the stairs with Mai, he seemed to be growing worse, weaker.

Hosho was walking into base with the sleeping Mai in his arms, looking around.

"Make sure that they can fit Mai in there too…her ankle's broken," Hosho called to John, who was beginning to talk frantically on his phone. The priest nodded, his eyes on Naru.

Lin bent and checked Naru's pulse, just barely finding it there.

"God dammit!" Lin hissed, putting his hand on Naru's forehead. "You can't die, dammit!"

He checked his pulse again, but this time, it was gone. He laced his fingers together and began to compress his chest in a quick, steady rhythm to try and start his heart again.

Masako and Ayako were horrified, Masako's hand over her mouth.

It was a good thing that Mai was still asleep, because she would had been freaking out if she were awake to see Naru in such a state. However, even in her sleep, she was whimpering Naru's name, her hand groping around, even in her lap, to find him. She seemed to be looking for him for some reason.

"Mai…shhh…" Hosho said, sitting down with her still in his arms.

It took Lin what seemed like forever to get Naru's heart to pump on its own again. Really, it only took about half a minute, but he was legally dead during that time.

When his heart finally began to pump on its own, Lin kept a close eye on Naru. He looked over when he saw something move in the corner of his eye to see that Mai's hand had moved in her sleep towards Naru's.

He looked to Hosho before he looked away again and back to Naru.

Hosho, seeing Mai reaching out for Naru, sighed. He put his hand in hers instead and ran his thumb along the outside, wanting to keep her out of the way incase Lin had to perform CPR again. He continued to check him repeatedly, over and over again, until the ambulance arrived. He was very reluctant to let Naru be put on the first gurney, staying close to him. Apparently, he was beating himself up for letting Naru go off by himself like he had.

Hosho could see how reluctant Lin was to let Naru go, and mirrored that as he laid Mai down on the second stretcher.

He wanted to make sure she'd be alright, but there wasn't enough room in the ambulance to go with the two of them.

Lin and Hosho, along with the rest of the team, accompanied the EMTs outside the mansion, and watched as they drove away.

"Hey," Ayako said, standing with them, her voice soft. "We can follow them to the hospital in the car." Her tone was gentle, reassuring. "They'll be alright, they're in good hands for right now. The sooner we get there, the sooner you two can be there for them."

Lin was standing there, almost like a statue, as he watched the ambulance round the corner before he curtly nodded. He turned to head for his car, going to get out.

"My, he's…rather colder than usual," Ayako observed before she sighed, heading for the car behind him.

"He's scared," Hosho told her, starting to head for the car too. "I don't blame him…he did say that he was responsible for Naru's well being. He almost died in there."

Hosho looked to her when he was halfway between where he'd been standing and the car, his eyes questioning.

"Are you coming? Or am I going to have to deal with him on my own?"

"Yes, I'm coming," Ayako said. Masako stood back.

"I'm going to stay and inform everyone of what has taken place. John and I will work to cleanse what is left in the home," Masako said before she turned to go back inside just as Ayako climbed into the car.

"Thanks, Masako," Hosho said quietly before getting into the car with Ayako and Lin.

Masako and John watched as Lin put the car in gear before Hosho even had a chance to buckle in, speeding out of the driveway, gravel flying up into the air behind the car as he went.

* * *

I hope you guys liked it!

Please review, I want to know what you all think! And if you ask questions in your reviews, I'll answer them! Please review and question! :D


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks so much to those of you who reviewed last chapter, namely **Ariana Taniyama**, **Moons-chan **and** Emina105**. Thanks again, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

I'm updating so quickly because I'm really in the mood for it...so, for now, you guys have gotten 3 chapters in 2 days! WOW! :D

And also, in answer to one of the reviewers, no, the yaoi pairing in the future (it will be a LONG time, though...we're only on page 8 of the role play after this chapter, but the pairing is established on...60, I think, so there's a ways) is NOT OC's. There aren't even any OC's in this role play, really, except for clients...WAIT, there is one, but oh well, I'm rambling. On to the chapter now!

Enjoy!

* * *

_**Chapter 3**_

Mai groaned. Her head was pounding. She slowly opened her eyes, but she was in a single cylinder of light. She sat up, and there, beside her, was Naru. He smiled gently to her.

"Naru…" she whispered, but he lightly shook his head and put his hand on top of hers. "Did…are we okay?"

Naru's smile turned sad as he ruffled her hair.

"Go back to sleep, Mai," he whispered and pushed her back down. "Noll will be close when you wake."

Mai blinked at the name. It sound almost exactly like Naru, but…it wasn't the same name. It sounded so close to Naru…is that what he had meant?

"Noll?" Mai echoed, but she was already falling back into sleep.

xXx

Mai slowly began to swim back to the waking world. She felt tired and heavy as she began to wake up, groaning when her body didn't want to move. Her leg and ankle were lightly throbbing, and she didn't think it would be a good idea to try and move it.

Wherever she was, there was a soft plucking sound, accompanying little steady beeping.

She slowly began to open her eyes and looked around, trying to gather her bearings.

She was in a white-painted double hospital room, an IV hooked up to her arm. Naru was in the other bed to one side of her, and he looked to be sleeping. He was pale, but seemed to be doing better. He was breathing well on his own, and his heartbeat, though weaker than normal, could be heard as a sort of a beat to that gentle sound. That was the steady beeping she'd been hearing.

In a chair next to Mai's bed was Hosho, playing at an unplugged electric guitar. The sound was soft and soothing, and it explained the plucking sound.

Hosho's eyes were closed as he played, just trying to give himself something to do as he sat with Mai and Naru.

He hadn't noticed she was awake yet as she opened her eyes a bit more, watching him.

"Monk...?" she mumbled after a moment of listening to the music, almost dropping off back to sleep at the gentle sound.

The gentle strumming stopped and Hosho looked up, his eyes opening.

"Oh, you're awake," he said, smiling. "'S about time…how're you feeling? The doc said you hit your head pretty good on those stairs…"

"I'm okay, I guess…I feel really sore, and my head hurts," Mai murmured. "What…how long has it been?"

She slowly pushed herself up so she was sitting up halfway, propping herself up by her elbows.

"A day, give or take a few hours," Hosho said. "It's one in the morning now…do you need anything?"

"Nah…'m good…" Mai murmured softly. She could tell that she had a cast on her foot and a brace on her knee, even though she didn't even remember it getting x-rayed, set or wrapped.

She ignored the pain there, though, and looked over at Naru. She motioned to him with her chin, careful not to move her head too fast for fear that the throbbing ache in the back of it would get worse.

"How's Noll?" she asked him, looking back to him. There was a concern in her eyes that she didn't understand. She didn't even realize, either, that she'd said Noll instead of Naru, the names were so similar.

"Noll?" Hosho asked, sounding and looking confused. He then looked over to the other bed, where she'd been gesturing a moment before.

"Oh, Naru," he clarified. The names sounded so alike, it was hard to distinguish between them.

"He hasn't woken up yet…he legally died at least three times before the docs could really stabilize him. He's fine now, though, just resting," Hosho said, putting the guitar away as he spoke.

At hearing this, Mai looked a bit horrified as he told her that Naru had died at least three times before now. For some reason, she felt the urge to yell at him for being so careless, or for doing something that could have killed him for real.

"You should both be just fine soon, too," he added. "Of course, you're going to be on crutches for a while…you broke your ankle and cracked your kneecap."

She pushed herself up to sit completely, looking over at Naru's bed. Now that she was sitting up, she could see that Lin was asleep on the other side of Naru's bed, his head lying on top of his arms. He was asleep.

"Have you...both been here the whole time?" she asked him, her head tilted to the side.

"Mostly…Lin's been here the entire time. I had to go to a show a bit earlier…Ayako was here for me, and left when I got back," Hosho told her, then he rolled his eyes. "She was yelling at me for being out so late…said if I was so worried I should've stayed myself, but I couldn't cancel on the guys tonight."

He smiled. "When I got back, Lin was already asleep… and you were still out like a light." There was something infectious and kind about that smile on his face. "I'm glad to see you're doing so much better."

"Yeah...I guess I'm glad I'm feeling better, too," Mai murmured, looking down at her leg, and smiled slightly back up at him.

She looked over at him, and then back at Naru.

"I had a dream…" she murmured, looking confused.

"Oh?" he asked, sounding inquisitive. "What about?"

"It was…of Naru…" Mai whispered, looking over at him, confused. "But…it wasn't Naru…" She was confused. "When I said his name, he shook his head…he said that 'Noll would be close when I woke up'…what does that mean?" She looked up at Hosho. "I don't know what it means."

Hosho was quiet as he thought about that.

"So that's where you got that name from…" he murmured, mostly to himself. As he continued to think, a hand went up to his chin.

"Well, he is in the bed next to you, after all…but I doubt it could really be that simple. Maybe there's something more to it, but at the moment, I can't think of anything."

"I can't think of anything, either," Mai whispered. She sighed. Her head was beginning to pound again and she closed her eyes as she slowly laid back, careful not to hit the back of her head or anything. She extended her hand towards Hosho, offering it to him to take if he wanted it.

"You wanna lay down?" she whispered, looking to the empty space on the side of her bed. She was already falling asleep as she whispered, "You gotta sleep a'some poin', Monk…"

Hosho took Mai's hand when she offered it, smiling softly at her. She looked so tired, and he could imagine he did too, having been here with her all day and then going out to the show.

"Yeah, sure," he said. A bed would be so much better than sleeping in a chair. Hosho was sure that Lin's back would be bothering him in the morning.

He got up, and very carefully laid back beside her, giving Mai plenty of room and avoiding her leg so he didn't make her hurt anymore than she already was. As he did, Mai's eyes were slipping closed all the way as she curled against his side.

"Night, Mai…" he murmured, though she looked like she was already asleep. He closed his eyes as well, drifting off before they were even all the way closed.

xXx

Mai sighed as she looked up from her book. Reading was giving her a headache again. She closed it and put it down in her lap. She sat on the couch in the double room, propping her leg up on a chair Hosho had pushed over here for her that morning. Lin, a few feet away, looked over at her at the motion.

At the moment, the two of them were alone with Naru, waiting, still, for him to wake up, even four days after he had nearly died.

"Why are you still here?" Lin questioned, staring at her intently. "You were released by the doctors yesterday."

Mai looked down at her feet upon hearing the inquiry. She didn't really know why she stayed. Maybe it had been her dream the night before.

_"Stay close...Noll will wake up soon,"_ was what Naru had told her in her dream…so she had decided to stay and hopefully it would be true.

Lin sighed. "If you don't know, then why don't you just go home?"

Mai could only sigh in response. "I don't know, Lin…I don't know."

As Mai was saying this, Naru's eyes were slowly opening. Lin didn't see the motion because he was turned to look at Mai, but Naru's violet eyes were on Lin. After a moment, they moved to Mai.

"Would you two be quiet? Some of us are trying to rest…" he grumbled. His voice was soft as always, but didn't have the usual razor's edge to it.

Gene…

It wasn't often that he had those dreams anymore, but, when he did, they were often chiding him, much like Lin did, about over using his powers without something to cushion the effects.

And they always served to remind him of his missing part. He felt horrible. He just wanted to go die. Why couldn't he just be dead, too?

"Noll…hey, you're awake," Mai said happily, smiling as she pushed herself up and grabbed her crutches to move over to a chair by his bed.

Lin had turned to look at Naru upon hearing him speaking, but then his head snapped over to look at Mai at hearing the name she'd used to call Naru. It sounded almost identical to the nickname she used for him, but there was a bare subtle difference that she had never used before that was just different.

When Naru had heard that name, his eyes had turned sad. His thoughts had already been preoccupied with his own loss…but now…

Lin, meanwhile, stared at Mai, his own eyes sad and blinking, before he looked over at Naru.

"I didn't tell her that," he whispered, his eyes slipping back to look at Mai.

"Didn't tell me what?" Mai asked, looking confused, as she sank into a chair beside his bed.

Naru sighed, forcing himself to sit up, a motion that was probably done too hastily. He felt weak and heavy.

He'd never liked that feeling.

"Noll was…it was something I shared with someone I lost a long time ago…" Naru murmured, leaning back against the pillows as he now half sat, half laid on the bed.

Mai was confused. She had watched him in silence as he spoke, looking sad as well.

"Who?" was all she asked. When she had, Lin stood.

"I'll be back," he said, understanding that Naru didn't like to preach to a crowd and knew that this was a private matter, despite the fact that he already knew, that he had known for years. 'I'll be in the hall if you need me, Naru."

Naru watched as Lin left, glad that he wouldn't have to see Lin's face as he told the story again. He knew that it hurt Lin to hear it…it hurt Naru, too. But he wouldn't make Lin stay to hear it again, to see the pain in his eyes again.

Naru wouldn't make him stay to hear the reason why Lin had even been hired by his father in the first place…to do what Gene had supposed to do.

He closed his eyes, not wanting to see Mai's face either.

"My brother…my twin…he called me that." he said in a whisper. He knew that Mai thought that he was just an only child, and more than likely a spoiled one at that. But that just wasn't true. He acted like he did out of loneliness, and out of a need to control his powers so that he didn't accidentally kill himself.

"When we were twelve…he was killed…" Mai gasped, a hand covering her mouth, and Naru winced at the sound. Something in Naru's words, the knowledge behind them, made her chest clench. "He was hit by a car, here in Japan, a few years after my adoptive father had taken us in. I was back in London, England, at the time." He sighed. "We were sort of like a pet project for our father. The powers I have, that you saw…Lin must have explained some of it to you while you were waiting for me to wake up?"

He was hoping that Lin had, because he didn't want to have to explain them to Mai.

"He explained some of it to me, yes," Mai whispered in response, looking up at him. There was a sort of empathy in her eyes.

"He told me that you have so much power that you can't control it…that when you use it, all of it comes out at once in raw power…so he was hired to help you control it…and to make sure that you don't use it like you did in the basement to save me…"

Naru nodded. "Yes, that's exactly it," he said. "The reason my father hired Lin…was because Gene…" He couldn't help but to look devastated as he said this. "…he was the control for my power. When there are twins born with a gift like ours, one of them is often the cause, and the other reciprocates that first twin. Gene was the control for my power. When he was around, I didn't have to fear my power coming back to hurt me because he made it so I wouldn't be hurt, that that backlash couldn't come back to me like it does now when I use my abilities."

As Mai listened, she moved from the chair she'd been sitting in to the bed he was on. Near the end of his explanation, her hand came up and rested on his cheek.

"I'm sorry, Noll…" she whispered, not even realizing she was using the name. "I…didn't know…"

Hearing that name again, Naru's eyes saddened and he seemed to wince.

"Please don't call me that, Mai…" he murmured.

It was the first time he had ever said something like that to her…please wasn't a word Naru was known to use.

Mai was slightly shocked, as Naru had expected, before she nodded.

"Of course…I'm sorry, Naru," Mai whispered. "Thank you, for telling me, Naru…I appreciate it."

Naru nodded, the gesture short. After a moment or so, he leaned over, and rested on Mai's shoulder, looking fatigued, though he'd been out for days. This action shocked Mai, but she put her arms around him, regardless, leaning her head gently on his.

"It's always, very hard to talk about," he murmured. "But that's why I am the way I am…"

"I'm sure," she whispered. "Losing your other half…that has to be hard…" She was quiet for a few moments, just holding Naru.

"Did you ever find your real parents?" she asked him softly.

Naru shook his head.

"No…I never have…them…or Gene's body…" he murmured. "That's why I'm here…to find his body so I can take him home, to England, and give it a proper burial…"

Mai closed her eyes at hearing that, just holding Naru to her. She did look up, though, when she heard the door open. Lin was stepping inside, closing his cell phone.

"Naru, that was your father," he said softly. "He had news about…_that_." He knew that Naru would know what he meant.

Naru sat up on his own at that, looking up at Lin. Mai's arms slipped away from around him

"Oh?" he asked. "What about it?" He seemed to be all again, forgetting his earlier sadness entirely, it seemed.

"He found the names of your mother and father," he said quietly. Mai's eyes felt like they wanted to bug out of her head. "They're both dead, unfortunately…but he knows their names."

Naru looked almost hopeful for a moment, but that soon faded when Lin told him that the names his father had found that belonged to his real parents were truly names of the deceased.

His eyes seemed to drift far away as he nodded.

"That's…good…" he whispered, sounding almost as if he was forcing the words out.

But, really, what was so good about finding out that he was truly alone? The only real hope he'd had was that out there, somewhere, his parents had still been alive. Sure, he'd felt as if he'd been deceiving himself, but it had at least been something.

He'd always felt that there was something out there that he was missing, something that he had never been able to find with his adoptive father back in England.

"But Naru," Lin continued, watching him closely.

"What, Lin?" Naru asked after a few moments of silence. It was as though he weren't interested anymore, that he was dead inside. He didn't want to hear anymore. He just wanted to go to sleep now and never wake up.

"Their last names were Taniyama."

* * *

Well? WELL? Did ya see THAT one coming? I'm so proud of myself and my friend. :D

I hope you all enjoyed it, because I know that I sure did when we did this part in our role play!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please please PLEASE review! The more reviews I get, the more likely I'll be to update sooner!

Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks so much to those of you who reviewed last chapter, namely **dutchangel1979**, **Emina105** and **AstigzBFF07**. Thanks again, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

I know, I know, the chapters are getting steadily shorter...but they'll get longer again. I tend to have the chapter go until I have everything in it that I want in it, not caring about the length. I hope you guys don't mind!

Enjoy!

* * *

_**Chapter 4**_

"Their last names were Taniyama."

Mai froze, her eyes growing huge. She looked up at Lin, her gaze questioning. He caught her gaze and he barely nodded in answer.

Naru absorbed this for a moment, quietly, before he looked over at Mai.

Seeing the shock on her face, and Lin's barely visible nod, he blinked, taking in her features.

He couldn't remember his mother, not really. But even so, he was trying to transpose Mai's features onto the hardly-remembered face of the woman who'd given birth to him and Gene.

Could it really have been the same person who'd had Mai?

It was almost too good to be true.

"I had him triple check while I was on the phone with him," Lin told him.

The room lapsed into silence after Lin whispered, "It's true."

Mai then looked down at her feet and then back up at Naru.

"So…who I've been seeing in my dreams…that wasn't you, it was Gene…" she breathed. She barely remembered, so long ago, her first memory that she could recall…a memory of running after her someone…her friends…her brothers.

"You've been dreaming about him, too?" Naru asked. He hadn't known that Gene had been a subject of her dreams. If he'd know that earlier, it would have changed everything.

Of course he believed it now, it made sense.

"That means it really is true…" he whispered, a shocked look still on his face.

"He's been helping me from the very beginning, Naru, in my dreams…that was how I knew that things were gonna happen…I thought it was you, that's why I never said anything…these past few days, he's been saying things about Noll…that's how I knew the name…" Mai whispered, looking up at him.

"But Mom and Dad never said anything about you two…they never did…"

"Would you tell your youngest child that your eldest could summon poltergeists?" Naru asked Mai, and she looked down at her hands. "Or that your twins were very powerful psychics?"

"It was probably done to protect you, in case something happened to one of us…" he murmured. He shrugged then with a soft sigh. "But I guess we'll never know."

Mai was still looking at her hands as she listened to him talk, her eyes soft, sad. He wouldn't see it at the moment, but there were tears in her eyes.

"I just barely remember…you and Gene would make me laugh…you'd make my teddy bear dance…"

Lin took that as his cue to leave the two siblings alone for a while to reacquaint themselves with the idea of having a family again, silently slipping out the door.

Naru blinked as he thought about that memory. He hardly remembered anything from the time before his father had adopted them, barely had any memories to go along with his past.

But…that was one of them.

"The teddy bear…" he whispered. And, as he sat there, a small smile graced his lips. It was a very rare occurrence for him to smile, and it was as though his face had forgotten how for a moment.

Mai's eyes lifted to look at him again, and she saw his smile. For the first time, he looked like in her dreams. He looked like Gene.

She slowly brought a hand up and placed it atop his head.

"I wish…things had been different…" she whispered, and a couple of tears fell from her eyes.

Naru nodded, his smile beginning to fade again. For the most part, he had to keep a handle on his emotions. He knew that was a dangerous road to go down with how strong his powers were.

But, speaking about Gene, and the times they'd had, even what little the two of them could remember, had allowed him to let out a bit of his powers without feeling a backlash.

It had been so long since he'd done something like that that he wasn't sure what he was supposed to think.

"Are you hungry or anything, Naru?" Mai asked quietly after a moment. "I can have someone get you something…"

Naru nodded.

"Yes," he said, his voice soft. He'd almost forgotten that he hadn't eaten in three or four days until she said that.

He was really hungry, and knew he needed to eat something.

Mai nodded. She let her hand fall from where it had been on his head to look to the door.

"Hey, Lin?" she called quietly, and the door opened. The taller man stuck his head inside.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Could you get Naru and I something to eat?" she asked, and Lin nodded.

"I'll be back soon," he said before he turned to leave again.

"Bring some tea back with you," Naru called, and Lin laughed. "And make sure it's fresh. I don't want crap that's been sitting there for hours."

"Of course, Naru. I'll be back," Lin said with a chuckle before shutting the door behind him.

Mai looked back at Naru as he settled back against the pillows, and whispered, "He hasn't left your side until today…"

"No, he wouldn't have," Naru said gently with a nod. "He feels bad whenever I do end up using my powers, as if he's let my father down or something."

He shrugged a bit.

"I didn't have much of a choice in the matter. I rarely do when I have to use it."

"Well, he shouldn't feel too bad…you're okay now," Mai said, and she smiled. "Of course, you're not a hundred percent, but you're getting better." She then looked down at her leg, and sighed. "Lucky you, though, you'll be good in a week or two, I'm stuck like this for a few weeks."

Naru shrugged.

"But you don't feel as weak as I do, either. At least you can move around," he quipped. "I'll be stuck in bed until they tell me I can go.'

This caused Mai to chuckle lightly, but she bit back most of her laughter to avoid the pounding in the back of her head getting worse.

She just smiled at him.

"I'll stay with you while you're stuck in bed, then," she whispered. "If you don't mind…"

Naru gave another little smile at that. Gene would have done the same…either of them would have done the same back then to each other, should anything have happened.

"I'd like that," he told her honestly. "You should go sleep at your own place though, where you'll be more comfortable."

"Now why would I do that when there's a bed right there?" Mai asked with a gentle smile. "I'll stay, Naru…I don't mind. Besides, it'll be easier to stay here, with my leg and all…going up and down the stairs from the parking garage to here would be hell."

She moved from where she was sitting on the edge of the bed to go sit down on one of the side chairs, propping her leg up on his bed.

"I'll keep you company."

The two of them spent a few quiet hours, Lin coming in and out, together, talking, joking, telling stories and really catching up with each other. They had also discussed earlier that it would be a good idea to conceal their new found relationship from the others for the moment until they'd had a chance to get used to it.

Naru slept on and off during that time, slowly working to regain his strength.

He was awake when Hosho came in, causing Mai to lift her head from her and Naru's latest conversation, a few doggie bags from a restaurant down the street in his hands. Four, to be exact.

"I had a feeling you'd be awake…and I thought you'd all want something not from the cafeteria," Hosho announced with a smile.

"Yes, that sounds very good, thank you," Mai chuckled, extending her hand for one of the bags.

"Good, I'm glad," Hosho said, handing Mai one of the bags, and then offering one out to Lin as he lifted his head from his book to mark the page and set it aside.

"Hey, Naru, back from the land of the dead, huh?" he asked. "How're you feeling?"

"Fine," Naru answered curtly, taking one of the other two bags Hosho had in his hands, as the monk was leaning over the bed to give Lin his dinner.

"Seems like it."

"Yes, unfortunately, Monk, he's back," Mai said, and looked to Naru with a wink after she'd had a good bit of soup from her bag, drinking deeply from the side of it after taking the lid off. At this, Naru winked back.

Hosho blinked, taking this by surprise. It filled him with a touch of sadness to see the two of them acting like this, though. Were Mai and Naru together now?

He didn't even stand a chance, then, did he?

"So, did you guys all wrap up the case?" Mai asked Hosho, looking up at him.

"Yeah. There wasn't much left to do after Naru killed the demon. We exorcized the spirits that were trapped there, cleansed the rest of the house and that was that. The bodies we could find from the victims were given a proper burial, and the families got the closure they needed," he said. "All in all, it was a success."

Mai nodded.

"I figured you guys would all finish it," she said before she finished her soup. "How are the others? Are they all right?"

"They're fine," Lin said. "They dropped by earlier this morning."

Mai looked to him, and then back at Hosho. "And how are you doing?" she asked him softly.

Hosho shrugged, his eyes closed. "Fine, compared to you two," he said.

However, he couldn't shrug that feeling…what if Mai and Naru really were…then he'd been getting his hopes up all this time for nothing the last few days.

That would totally suck.

Naru, meanwhile, was watching the situation quietly as he ate his dinner. Once he was done, he placed the empty food carton back in the bag.

"That was better than hospital food," he commented as he settled back.

"Your welcome," Hosho told him with a slight roll of his eyes.

Mai, when she had finished as well, sat back for a moment before she straightened. She got up and crossed to the side of the room, pouring hot water from an automatic tea kettle that Lin had brought in earlier into cups with tea bags in them, then brought one back for her, and another back for Naru.

Naru took the cup that Mai offered him, nodding to her in thanks before sipping at it. "I would have preferred the regular tea, Mai, but I'm not going to make you go and get any on a broken leg," he said.

"Oh, how _gracious_ of you," Mai said sarcastically, rolling her eyes as she settled back down with her own cup of tea.

Hosho was quiet as Naru said this, but had taken in all the softness between the two of them.

"Are you two, like…together or something?" he asked.

Naru, who'd been drinking at the time, began to choke, having found what the monk just said to be hilarious.

Mai spewed her drink and she burst out laughing at Hosho's comment.

"N-Noll and I?" she asked, laughing, but then she made herself stop as her head began to throb where she'd hit her head on the stairs. She looked at Hoshi, a grin still on her face, but she groaned as her head pounded angrily, a hand going to the back of her head.

Naru looked up when he heard her groan. After he'd controlled his own choking, he spoke, voice soft. "Be careful, Mai…"

She felt something grab her hand and there was something put in it. She opened her eyes to see Lin standing beside her, and there were a few pills in her hand. She took them and swallowed them down with water, and she whispered, "Thanks, Lin..."

He put his hand atop her head before he turned to walk back over to his chair.

Hosho was blinking at their reactions. They thought this was funny?

Then, he got the meaning of Mai's look.

"S-so you're not?" he asked.

Naru shook his own head for confirmation. "Different situation entirely, Monk. You've gotten it all wrong."

"There's nothing going on between us of that sort," Mai assured him.

She sat back a bit, closing her eyes with a sigh, her head pounding furiously now.

"You should go lay down Mai…" Naru told her. "Those pills will probably make you tired, anyway."

Hosho nodded. "If your head hurts, you should relax," he agreed, seeming more at ease now than he had been before.

Mai nodded and she stood up, grabbing her crutches to begin working her way to the other bed. When she got there she put the crutches against the wall and laid down, closing her eyes to go to sleep.

When she was asleep, Lin shook his head.

"I'm surprised she hasn't slept before now," he said softly as he picked up his book, turning it back to his page.

Naru nodded in agreement.

"Why? Has it been bothering her that much?" Hosho asked.

"Yes and no," Naru said. "On and off…she tries not to show it, of course, like the idiot she is."

"That and she hadn't slept much these past few days while waiting for Naru to wake up," Lin said with a sigh. "She doesn't want us to worry about her…that's why she really bottles it up."

"That's not good…" Hosho said, looking over at Mai on the bed.

"No…" Naru agreed. "But she's resting now, that's what matters."

Hosho nodded, then looked back to Naru. "So if you're not together, then…"

"It's none of your business," Naru told him sharply.

"You should be sleeping, too, Naru," Lin said without looking up from the pages of his book. "I know how much you hate being bed ridden."

"Wouldn't that be rude, though, Lin? To eat and sleep?" Naru asked, sounding peeved.

"It's alright, Naru…you need to rest, that's fine," Hosho said. "No offense taken, really."

Naru sighed.

"Fine," he said.

With that, he rested back against the pillows, and closed his eyes. Soon, he was asleep, as well.

When Hosho was sure that Lin was asleep, he looked to the taller man as he read, not even looking up from his book.

"So, if they're not toge – "

"Leave it, Monk."

"Right…"

* * *

So, next chapter begins their next case! YAY! Aren't you all excited?

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I hope you review! The more reviews I get, the more likely I am to update soon!


	5. Chapter 5

I'm so sorry it took so long to update! I had to finish up school work (I go back to school tomorrow… -gags- but I should still be able to update, just not as often and not as regularly as I normally would have been able to.

Thanks so much to those of you who reviewed last chapter, namely **Emina105** and **blackwitchkarma**. Thanks again, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Enjoy!

* * *

_**Chapter 5**_

_July  
Day 1_

Naru sighed in contentment as he walking out of the hospital, looking quite pleased.

Mai walked beside him on her crutches, her eyes on Lin.

"There was a call that we received yesterday, about a young man asking for help. I normally wouldn't take a case like this so soon, but he nearly begged me to ask you for your help," Lin said as they walked, reading off of a clipboard he was carrying with him. "The main reason I took the case on was because his wife has been receiving bruises and scratches over her back and stomach, which is quite dangerous, considering the woman is pregnant. He has also been physically attacked by something he couldn't see, and sprained his wrist twice and dislocated his shoulder and knee fighting whatever it was off. They hear voices talking to and around them in the middle of the night, and their first child runs to their room crying in the middle of the night saying that there was a man watching her while she slept."

Mai looked concerned, shivering a bit at imagining that happening to her while she slept. "Really?"

"Yes, he even brought the pictures with him to prove what had happened to his wife, and he had a wrap on his wrist. He barely moved it when he was talking to me," Lin told her as they got to their car.

"I see," Naru said as he helped Mai into the back seat, since she would have had a tougher time on her own. He then moved to the passenger's side and climbed in, buckling in as Mai, in the back, did the same. Lin climbed in and started the car as Naru asked, "Are the others are meeting us there?"

"Yes," Lin told him as he began to pull out of the hospital parking garage. "They're all going to meet us there. I hope you don't mind, I stopped by your places and packed a bag for both of you."

"That's fine," Mai said softly as she sat back against the seat.

"Mn…" Naru quietly agreed with Mai.

"Oh, and Mai," Lin said, looking in the rearview mirror at her.

"Yes, Lin?"

"You will be doing nothing but sitting at base," he told her.

"What?!" she shrieked. "No! I'm not just gonna sit still! What if something happens and you need an extra set of hands?"

"We'll have plenty, Mai. You will be staying at base. You're still not healed," Lin explained.

Naru sighed.

"It's probably a good idea, Mai…" he said, agreeing with Lin. "You need to relax and let your leg and your head heal, and if you use energy casting spells it isn't going to help matters that," he told her.

"Though I think Lin was a bit harsh in how he said that, I agree with him on this. The rest of us will be fine."

"But…but Noll…" Mai tried to protest, but then she sighed, knowing that her brother wasn't going to budge. She huffed and looked out the window again, letting her forehead fall to hit the window with a small 'smack.'

Lin looked back at her after he heard that sound, but then at seeing that she was only in a bad mood, his eyes went back to the road and he didn't say anything else.

Naru looked back at hearing it, as well. Seeing he'd put Mai into a bad mood, he simply sighed.

"Don't misunderstand, Mai. I just want you to get better soon. If you got hurt again, I would be incredibly upset with myself," he told her, his voice very soft, more so than usual.

"You make sitting there wanting to gouge my eyes out with boredom seem like a roller coaster ride," Mai grumbled. "Do you have any idea how _boring_ base is when no one else is around? I mean, seriously…"

Naru actually chuckled. "You forget, Lin and I take shifts most of the time when you aren't at base. I know perfectly well how boring it might be. And trust me, if it weren't the safest place for you to be…"

Mai sighed, just looking out the window was Lin drove out of the main city.

It was around an hour later that Lin was pulling to a stop outside of a home that looked similar to the mansion they had been at the last time, but it was slightly smaller…and didn't look quite as confusing.

"Great…another big place…" Mai sighed as Lin turned the car off and began to get out, going around to the back to get Mai's crutches out for her.

"Do you have something against big homes, Mai?" Naru asked as he got out of the car and helped her out, standing right with her to help support as Lin got the crutches.

"No," Mai said, looking at him with a rueful smile. "It just means more work setting up cameras."

A bit down the driveway, Hosho, John, Ayako and Masako were already there, waiting for them.

"Do you see what I'm saying?!" Hosho was saying, throwing his arm wildly toward Lin's van.

"I don't think that's so weird…" John murmured. "I mean, out of character for Naru, sure but…"

"That's exactly it. I think oxygen deprivation went to his brain," Hosho grumbled.

"Is someone jealous?" Ayako asked, chuckling a bit at the monk's expense.

"No!" Hosho growled.

They fell silent then, though, because Mai, Lin and Naru were almost to them. Mai was smiling as she came down the drive, careful of her leg. Lin walked beside her, making sure she didn't slip on the gravel of the drive.

"Hey, guys," Mai said cheerfully when she reached the small group.

"Good morning, Mai," Ayako smiled at her.

"Good day, Mai," John said, as well.

Masako, though, said nothing and looked away, crossing her arms over her chest. Ayako chuckled.

"Hey," Hosho said with a friendly wave, going over to Mai's other side to help make sure she was alright walking. Naru sort of frowned as Hosho took his place at Mai's side. He didn't like it. "How're you doing?"

Ayako and John could only chuckle at this. Hosho was acting as if he was seventeen…and it was amusing to watch.

Mai seemed to sense the unease in her brother, though, and turned before she answered Hosho. She felt a sort of uncomfortable power surging around Naru, and she tried her best to calm it, gently trying to sooth the feeling and cover it with, as best as she could describe, a softer blanket of power. She barely even realized she was doing it.

She watched him for a moment, smiling lightly and gently to Naru.

As Naru stood there, he felt that sort of comfort that Mai was sending. He stopped in his tracks, blinking a bit as he looked up to Mai, seeing her soft smile.

That feeling…that weird, and yet…awesome feeling. There was just no other way to describe it.

It was something he hadn't felt in a long time, like a lot of the other things he was experiencing lately. It felt like back when Gene was alive.

That was the only way he could put it in his thoughts.

Mai smiled gently again before she nodded and turned to look up at Hosho in time to hear his question.

"Better," she told Hosho, smiling. "I get headaches a lot, but the doctor said that was normal with how bad a concussion I had."

"Shall we be getting inside, then?" she asked them. Lin nodded.

"We should," he said. "And later, while we're bringing the equipment inside, you can hook it up. I'll let you do that, Mai."

"Oh, how _gracious_ of you," Mai rolled her eyes, crutching her way towards the front door.

"Naru, are you coming?" Ayako asked, looking over at Naru as everyone else headed for the front door. He was just standing there, though, staring at Mai's retreating back. The young man looked almost dazed.

Lin and Mai had stopped before the steps, turning to look at him, concern for Naru on his face as he saw the dazed look the younger man was housing on his face.

That stopped Hosho too, and he looked back at Naru for the first time.

"Yeah, man, it would be weird if all of us went in there before you…" Hosho said, but Naru still didn't say anything. "Hey! Earth to Naru!"

Naru blinked again, shaking his head, as if to clear it.

"Right…sorry," he murmured before walking up and taking his usual place in front of all of them.

Ayako stared after him, her eyebrows raised.

"Did Naru just honestly say 'sorry'?" she asked, blinking.

"Yeah, he like…says it all the time, Ayako. What's so shocking?" Mai asked, as if offended.

"Hey! Don't take it the wrong way, Mai, I was just kidding around," Ayako sighed, watching after the girl as she crutched her way behind Naru, Lin helping her up the front steps to the front door. She made a sound that was like an angry cat, rolling her eyes before she followed Masako and John up the steps, as well.

Hosho put an arm out as they were stepping onto the front porch as the others came inside. He'd stopped when he'd heard Naru say sorry, as well. He caught Ayako by the shoulder before she could follow the others inside.

"He so doesn't say that all the time," he said.

"Well, thank you, Captain Obvious, I had realized that already," Ayako said, looking up at Hosho, crossing her arms over her chest as the two of them stayed behind.

"Are you two coming?" John asked, staring at them from where he'd stopped in the doorway.

"We'll be inside in a minute, John, go on," Ayako said and then he closed the door.

Ayako looked up at him.

"So, has he been like this the entire time?" she asked Hosho, raising an eyebrow as she leaned against one of the supports of the large porch overhang, her arms crossed over her chest as her head tilted to the side.

Hosho nodded.

"Yeah, he started acting weird the day he woke up in the hospital," he reported with a sigh.

Hosho had gone to visit almost every day…mostly to see how Mai was doing, since she had decided to stay in the hospital with Naru. But it was still just so weird…too weird to just dismiss automatically. "He's been smiling and…saying things like that, it's just…it's like it's not Naru."

"Maybe him getting nearly killed made him rethink life," she said, looking up at him.

"I don't think so…does that sound like Naru? Rethinking life?" Hosho asked with a one-shouldered shrug, sighing as he leaned against the siding of the house beside the door, his own arms crossing over his chest.

They both stopped, though, looking over at the front steps as they heard someone walking up them. She expected to see someone, but then, they stopped and there was no one there.

"That was odd," she murmured.

Hosho sighed. "These aren't shy spirits, that's for sure. They're showing themselves already."

Ayako shook her head.

"No…not at all," she sighed. The screen on the door opened and then closed and she looked over before she sighed. "We should get inside. We can talk about this later when you and I are stuck setting up the cameras."

Hosho nodded. "Yeah…" he murmured, standing upright before he headed for the front door, Ayako following after him.

xXx

A few minutes before, Naru was already inside the house with Mai and Lin, talking to the client.

"If you'll come with me," the client said to Naru, gesturing towards a hallway, "I'll show you the different places I've been attacked and the places we think we hear the sounds coming from at night, and then I'll show you to my daughter's room."

Lin nodded.

"Of course," he said, and the man began to walk. Mai began to follow him but Lin grabbed her arm. She turned to him and glared, and there seemed to be a silent argument going on between the two using their eyes until Lin let go of her arm and let her begin crutching her way after their client again.

Naru appeared unaware of their nonverbal argument behind him as he continued after the client, asking all of his usual questions. He was all business now that he was in front of the client.

When they had finished downstairs, the man began to lead them upstairs. Lin actually bent and picked Mai up, carrying her up the flight of stairs so that she wouldn't trip with her crutches. He set her back on her feet at the top and the two began to follow after Naru and the man.

"And this is my daughter's room," the man said, stopping at a door a few down from the stairs. He opened it up and stepped inside. Lin and Mai followed behind him and Naru, but as soon as Mai stepped into the room she gasped and began to sway on her crutches. Lin turned and caught her before she fell backward, holding her upright.

"Mai, are you all right?" Lin asked her immediately. This caused Naru to turn sharply on his heel, his eyes slightly wide as he watched Mai. She didn't answer for a while, her eyes clenched shut and her hands clutching at whatever was close, which turned out to be her crutches in one hand, and Lin's shirt in the other.

"I…I think so…" she whispered.

"Do you need to sit down?" the client asked, looking over at her. She didn't reply, and so he pulled a rocking chair over that was in the corner and set it down beside her.

"Mai…" Naru whispered, going over to her help Lin sit her down. He could feel something, too…though obviously not as strongly as Mai had. "What happened, Mai? Can you tell me?"

"I…" Mai whispered, looking up at Naru. Her eyes were tortured, tears beginning to fill her gaze. "I…I saw…something…"

She looked down then, her hands holding onto and rubbing against each other to hide her shaking from them, even though Naru and Lin could easily tell that she was terrified of something.

"Later…" she whispered. "I…I need to get out of here…"

"Alright, Mai," Naru said, running a hand through Mai's hair, the young woman leaning into the touch. He then straightened and looked to Lin. "Bring her downstairs…you might as well find a place to start setting up base too. I can finish this up."

Mai closed her eyes, whispering, "I'm sorry, Noll…"

"Of course, Naru," Lin said with a respectful bow to him and the client. He then turned and hooked his arm through Mai's crutches, then carefully bent and picked Mai up from the rocking chair.

She leaned against his shoulder as he turned, careful of her leg as he walked back out through the door and then back down the stairs.

Naru sighed as they left, worried, watching after them until they were out of sight. He didn't blame Mai at all for the reaction that she'd had.

"So do things like that happen often?" he asked the client, referring to Mai nearly fainting. It could have been caused by the spirits in the house, definitely.

"No," the man said, shaking his head as he began to move the rocking chair back to where it was supposed to go in the corner, careful of the brace that he had on his wrist. "That's the first time it's really happened…some people get bad feelings when they come in here, but that's the first reaction I've really seen of that sort."

He then sighed. "Let's finish this up so you can go about your business." He looked over to Naru before his gaze looked to the side of the bed.

"My daughter has been waking up every night lately to see a man standing," he walked over to a spot, "right here, watching her while she sleeps. It scares her. It never happens when my wife or I come in here and sit here while she sleeps, but every time she tries it alone she comes screaming to our room."

He looked up at him. "She doesn't like talking about it…but I'm sure if you tried, she'd to tell you about the man she sees…"

"I see…" Naru said with a nod, a hand on his chin as he thought. "And it only watches her? You've never seen the form of the man, correct?"

The man nodded.

"Yes, that is right," he said softly. "My wife and I have taken turns staying in here at night with her while she sleeps, but we've never seen the man…but it terrifies her." He worried his lip, looking to the floor where he was standing. "She says he's right here…but we never see him."

He looked up at Naru. "I believe that that's all the activity we have…not counting my wife and I being attacked at random intervals and places around the house."

He looked to his braced wrist and to the opposite arm, which was in a sling under his coat. "It pulled my shoulder out of socket last night, right after I had put Suki to bed. It tried to push me down the stairs, whatever it was…I just barely managed to catch myself."

And then, there was a quiet chuckle from the corner, and the sounds of little feet running from the room but nothing was really there.

He sighed.

"That's been happening a lot, too, recently. We've been hearing a lot of footsteps and voices…my wife and I often wake up in the middle of the night and hear voices whispering to each other…but we can't exactly make out any words. Whenever one of us gets up to go see if it's Suki or not, they stop. We can never figure out what's going on…"

"So there is no connection to any of the attacks on you or your wife, they are completely randomized throughout the house?" Naru asked, just to confirm what he'd just heard.

He wanted to get downstairs and hear what had happened with Mai. He was worried about her, and it was pretty obvious, despite his usual stoicism.

The man nodded. "That's right; there's no specific place or time that it happens," he told him, walking over to the door. "I have to go pick up my daughter from school now...feel free to look around and do whatever you need to while I'm gone."

Naru nodded. "And I shall do so. Thank you."

xXx

A few minutes previous, after Ayako and Hosho had walked inside, there was a sound like an angry growl, and the door slammed shut behind the two of them before Ayako could shut it herself.

John turned, blinking, where he and Masako were coming in from a room that branched off of the foyer.

"Why'd you slam it, Ayako?" he asked.

"I didn't, it slammed itself," Ayako said, turning to look at the stairs as she heard someone coming down, expecting to see nothing. But then she saw Lin carrying Mai down. Ayako and Masako blinked.

"Have you found somewhere we can set up base, John?" Lin asked, looking over at him, still holding Mai in his arms. She looked like she'd fallen asleep.

"Mai…?" Hosho asked in a weak voice, slightly horrified at seeing her looking so tired all of a sudden, taking a step forward. John, however, put a hand in front of him to stop him.

"Yes, Lin, right this way…" John said, before beginning to lead all of them off to one of the larger rooms downstairs, a slightly oversized sitting room.

Hosho, though, was right at Lin's side as they walked. "What happened, Lin?"

"She nearly fainted when we walked into the daughter's room," Lin said as they walked into the room. He walked over to a couch in the room and set Mai down on it, taking off his suit jacket to lay it over her. "All right, we need to begin setting up…"

Hosho watched this, nodding a bit. He began to turn with the others to go outside to get cases out of the van when he stopped.

"Wait, Lin…the spirit's already shown himself to Ayako and I…it was climbing up the stairs outside and then slammed the door behind us," he said. "I don't think we should leave Mai unguarded."

"But what can really happen now?" Masako asked, her voice low. "I don't sense any hostile spirits at the moment.

"What _can't_ really happen now?" Hosho asked back.

"He does have a point, Lin," John said, looking up at him from where the two of them had stopped in the door.

Lin sighed.

"Why don't you stay here, then?" Lin asked Hosho, looking back at him. "We'll work in bringing everything inside and you can stay in here and set it up while keeping an eye on her while be bring everything else in."

And then he turned to walk out. Ayako huffed.

"Well, isn't he just a little ray of sunshine…" she grumbled as she began to walk after him, John and Masako to begin bringing things inside.

A few minutes later, as people came in and out, carrying in cases of equipment, wires and shelves, Mai began to wake up again at hearing the clanking and shuffling of them, just watching Hosho quietly as he worked, still looking close to half asleep.

When Hosho looked up to see that Mai was awake, even if she was only partially awake, he smiled.

"Hey…how're you doing?" he asked, on his knees as he did the wiring for the closed circuit monitors that would get feeds from their cameras.

"Okay, I guess…headache…" Mai murmured, closing her eyes again. She opened them and looked up at hearing more people walking in to see Ayako, Masako and John carrying in cases of equipment. She half sat up, watching them before she sat up all the way.

Hosho's eyes turned soft as he saw her make her form sit up, Lin's jacket falling from around her to pool around her waist.

"Hey, take it easy, I got this," he told her as he watched her trying to stand up to go over and help him. "Just sit back and rest."

He looked up at Ayako then as the priestess set down a case by the door. "You have aspirin with you, right?"

The red head glared down at him. "What makes you think I would have some?"

"Oh, come on…women's purses are usually miniature pharmacies, you've got to have something in yours."

"Wow, Monk…that was incredibly sexist."

"Do you have some or not, Ayako?"

She sighed, and went over beside Mai, giving her some aspirin out of her purse.

"Thank you," Mai whispered as she took it.

"You're welcome," Ayako said as she turned to head for the door again after making sure the girl was alright.

xXx

Naru stepped out of the daughter's room after the client, watching from the top of the stairs as the older man began to head back down the stairs, keeping a good grip on the banister as he walked down and out the front door after grabbing his keys, slipping past Ayako and Masako as they carried in cases of equipment.

Naru waited until the man was gone before he went to go head down the stairs, not being near as careful. In essence, he was trying to provoke the spirits into trying something with him. It was something that he had done in the past on cases when it had just been him and Lin.

Just as he got to the bottom, there was a light shove on his back. The motion wasn't that forceful, though, as though mocking him and just playing around.

The motion caused him to bump into Lin, who was coming in from outside, two cases in his arms.

Lin looked down at him, raising an eyebrow.

"Are you all right?" he asked Naru quietly.

"I'm fine. The spirit here is just," he looked back over his shoulder and up at the stairs, "challenging us. That's all the spirit is doing right now." He sighed. "Do you have all of the equipment in, yet?"

"This is the last of it," Lin told him as he began to head towards the livingroom and set them down. "We can start setting up now."

Naru nodded, stepping in behind him.

"All right," he said, turning to help him set up the computer mainframe. "Let's get started."

* * *

Well, that's the beginning of the case! It gets waaaay better than this, and I'm so excited! I can't wait to put up the next chapter!

I hope you all enjoyed.

Please review! I want more reviews, please!

Thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

I'm soooo so sorry. I've been so busy with school for too long, and I finally got time to work on a chapter tonight. And here it is!

Thanks so much to those of you who reviewed last chapter, namely **blackwitchkarma** and **Keiko Locket**. Thanks again, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Enjoy!

* * *

_**Chapter 6**_

It wasn't long after they'd all been in base that Naru turned to Mai, seeing that she was awake.

"Nice nap?" he asked her as he took a camera out of a case, beginning to unclip the wires.

"I wasn't out for that long, was I?" Mai asked, looking up at her brother. She could sense his relief, and once again it seemed to waft off of him like waves of energy. She once again put the blanket over him, keeping the power reigned in.

Naru had that dazed look about him again for a minute as he felt that calming blanket over himself…that soothing sort of power.

He knew he couldn't escape that influence, though it wasn't as if he wanted to.

"No," Lin said. "Only a few minutes."

Mai looked up at Naru but then looked away after only a moment.

"That room…" she whispered, her arms wrapping around herself. "I walked in, and…and…so many things happened at once…"

John slowed in what he was doing, watching her as she spoke, his hand halfway between hooking up a wire to the back of one of the circuit boards. Masako, as well, had stopped in unpacking the equipment to look over at her.

"I saw…something…" she whispered, feeling tears coming to her eyes as she still hugged herself. "And then…so many spirits…all tried to take me over at once…like in that church…but there were so many…and then I saw this man…he was standing by the bed, just watching me…" She shivered, the tears falling. "The look he gave me…it made me feel like…like I wasn't going to get out of the room alive…"

"That must be the spirit that the little girl sees," Naru said after gaining his composure back.

Luckily, unlike last time, no one noticed that he'd lost it to begin with.

"The little girl sees the spirit?" Hosho asked, for clarifications sake.

Naru nodded.

"The spirit, or spirits in this house can influence things in the house, such as pushing the parents down stairs or otherwise harming them, and causing noises. However, the little girl is the only one who sees anything. And it's always the same man standing at the side of her bed," he said.

"I don't blame her for being scared…you were probably channeling the little girl unconsciously, Mai," Hosho told her.

Mai looked up at her brother, though, as though she didn't her Hosho, the tears still falling down her cheeks.

"Noll, I…please don't…don't make me go back in that room…please…" she whispered before she pulled her good leg up to her chest and hugged it, resting her head against it.

Lin watched her quietly as he worked to take equipment out of the cases and hook it up, listening carefully to everything that was being said.

"Please…don't…" Mai whispered, and Masako set down the case she had in her hands again. She walked over to Mai and put a hand on her shoulder.

"You're free, don't you realize that?" she asked gently in a soothing voice. Ayako, by this time, was watching, too. "You don't have to be afraid anymore. Let her go. Leave her alone, and go towards the light. You're free now, you don't have to stay here anymore."

And then Mai sniffed and looked up at Masako, the tears falling a bit slower down her cheeks.

"Thanks…" she whispered, looking away after a few moments.

Naru stood there for a moment as he felt the spirit fly free of Mai's body after Masako had told it that it was alright to leave.

"You don't have to go back into that room, Mai," he said, voice very soft. "Don't worry about it."

He looked over at Hosho and John, who where now just staring at him after hearing that tone, flabbergasted.

"Are we almost ready to set up the cameras?" he asked.

"H-huh?" Hosho stammered, then nodded. "Y-yeah, almost, Naru…"

"Then let's get to work," Lin said as he began to unpack the cameras from the boxes.

"I'll help," Mai said, beginning to stand up. However, Masako pushed her back down.

"Relax. You just sit here. You've already had one spirit try to possess you, which makes you vulnerable for others to do so. Just relax."

Mai sighed, looking up at her brother, as he told Lin where to set up the cameras. When he looked over at her, she sniffed as she watched him with a near pleading gaze.

"Can I help, Noll?" she asked him quietly.

Ayako looked over Hosho and rose an eyebrow.

'What in the hell?' she mouthed to him as she began to unpack a camera, as well, her eyes going over to Naru after a moment to see what his answer would be to Mai's question.

"You and I," he said. "Are going to make sure the shots are alright. We won't have to leave this room."

To this, Hosho frowned. Now that just wasn't fair…Naru could have Mai alone and do…whatever in here while they were gone.

Mai nodded to what Naru said, a small smile on her face.

"Okay," she whispered. She reached down to grab her crutches and carefully stood, Masako watching her carefully to make sure she didn't fall over. Mai made her way carefully through the boxes to push a chair over to where the circuit boards were being put together and sat down in the chair, beginning to hook everything up so all they had to do was set up the cameras before they were ready.

She looked over at Naru and smiled gently. "Thank you, Noll."

John stared at her, and then him, and then Lin said, "Monk, Ayako, Masako, John, let's begin setting up these cameras. Everyone grab two so it won't take as long."

John nodded and grabbed two, beginning to do the same. He headed for the door, looking at Naru and Mai over his shoulder one last time before walking out.

"Lin, what the hell is going on?" he asked Lin as they walked out.

"Isn't it obvious?" Hosho asked after he'd left the room, having grabbed two cameras. His voice sounded like sharp, angry razor blades. "The lovebirds want some time alone."

Ayako sighed.

"Monk, Mai already told you that wasn't the case," she said with a slight roll of her eyes.

"Well, then what the hell could it be, huh, Ayako?" Hosho shot right back, glaring at her.

"Well, the two of them _did_ almost die together," Masako sighed. "Sometimes that sort of thing brings people closer together."

Ayako snorted.

"I doubt that _that_ would work on Naru," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Just leave it alone," Lin said harshly as they began to climb the stairs. "Let them be. They've been through enough."

Hosho grumbled under his breath a bit, looking very discouraged.

"Where do you want these, Lin?" he asked, voice low, as he held up one of the two cameras he was holding.

"Over here, in this doorway," Lin said, pointing towards the little girl's room.

"Lin…honestly…why?" Ayako asked.

He sighed. "I'm not supposed to say," he told them as he set down a tripod so they could put a camera on it and then began to set up a microphone beside it.

Hosho sighed, and nodded, going over to set up the camera.

xXx

After they had left, Mai looked over at Naru.

"While I was sleeping," she whispered, looking back to the circuit board, "Gene told me that we need to be careful. He said that if we aren't, one of us could die. He said it's not safe here…"

Her dream came back to her as she said this, sighing.

_Mai was sitting on the top of the stairs, and her dead brother was sitting beside her, his arm around her shoulders._

_"Naru?" she had asked. He had just shaken his head._

_"It's not safe here, Mai," Gene had whispered in her ear, rubbing a hand up and down her arm. "You need to be careful…tell everyone that they must be careful. It's possible for someone to die because of what has taken place."_

_Mai had pulled away to look up at him. "Why?"_

_He hadn't answered. He had only turned to look towards the door of the little girl's room. Peering out of it had been a large group of children, but behind them had stood that man again, most of his face obscured in shadow._

Naru listened as she recounted the memory to him, and nodded.

"Alright, Mai. When they get back, I'll tell them to be careful," he said.

"Gene's usually not wrong about these sorts of thing. He does have a connection to what's going on that none of the rest of us do," he said, voice sad. "Sometimes though, I wish he were wrong."

Mai smiled sadly. "I do, too, Noll," she whispered.

She finished the circuit board she was on and then sat back in her chair, leaning on the table and closing her eyes.

She then opened them again and looked to Naru.

"Do you remember…what Mom and Dad would call Gene?" she asked him quietly.

"No, not really…" Naru murmured softly in reply. "We didn't really get much time with Mom and Dad…before…"

He sighed, sitting in a chair next to Mai after he finished his own circuit. "He predicted his own death.... a few weeks before it happened," he said.

"He, uh…had a dream. He couldn't tell where he was, but he was all alone, and it was dark…and he said he couldn't move. Two weeks later, we were separated…and then…the accident happened. I knew it before anyone else…but that still didn't help how I felt. I almost died that weekend…I couldn't use my powers without hurting myself with Gene gone. He sighed quietly, looking off to the side. "If it weren't for Lin, I would be dead…I…as bad as this sounds, Mai…I actually wish that I had."

Mai could hear the sadness in his voice and once again the soft blanket subconsciously spread over his energy.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "That you almost died…and…that we didn't have a chance…"

She looked down. "Why couldn't…why couldn't Mom and Dad just deal with what they were given…" She clenched her fists, her hands fisting around the fabric of her jeans. A few feet behind her, a vase on a table began to shake. Tears were beginning to fall down her cheeks, but her eyes were hidden. "Why couldn't they have just dealt with it like everyone else does when life throws shit at them?!"

The vase was then shoved off of the table and shattered on the floor.

She didn't answer, though, even when she heard Hosho's voice come over the speaker in front of her asking, "So's this angle good, guys?"

Instead of answering, she let out a sound that was like a sob instead, pulling her knee to her chest.

xXx

Everyone upstairs, meanwhile, had heard the vase shatter from where they were upstairs, followed almost immediately by the sob coming from the radio. Hosho tensed, dropping g the radio from his hand.

"Monk…hey – " Ayako started, but Hosho was already on his way back downstairs.

"…oh boy…" John murmured behind him.

"What'd you do, you damn punk?" Hosho growled as he exploded through the door to base. He stalked right over to Naru, who was looking completely confused.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Naru said in reply. He'd been trying to comfort Mai when Hosho came in.

"Yeah, like hell," Hosho growled, grabbing Naru's collar. "What did you have to make Mai cry for?!"

Naru blinked. "I didn't…"

"Funny, but it looks like you did."

Naru frowned. "Let go of me, monk."

"Or what?"

"Or you'll end up like the demon in the last house. I'm sure you saw the corpse, right?" Naru growled.

"Monk…_stop it_," Mai hissed out past the tears streaming down her cheeks. She didn't take well to her brother being yelled at by one of her friends. Another vase fell off a table in the corner. Marbles that had been in it began to roll across the floor. "Leave Noll alone. He didn't do anything…"

Hosho glared at Naru a few minutes longer before looking over at Mai. Seeing her tear-stained face, his own softened considerably. He dropped Naru as he looked over at her.

"You're irrationally jumping to conclusions, monk," Naru said, straightening his jacket. "I wouldn't do anything to hurt Mai. We were just talking about an emotional subject. Now shouldn't you be helping the others set up? It isn't a good idea to be going off on your own, either. Get back with the others."

"Damn punk," Hosho frowned as he stalked out.

Naru sighed after him, and turned to the radio. "Lin…could you fix the angle? The camera needs to be a bit more to the left…Monk had it pointing at the doorjamb and didn't fix it before rushing down here without a clue about what was going on."

He looked up at Mai then, and over at the broken vases.

"I didn't mean to upset you, Mai…" he whispered. "I'm sorry."

"There's…nothing for you to be sorry about, Noll…it wasn't your fault…" Mai whispered.

With that, still looking at the broken vases, he brought the pieces up, and back together as if nothing had happened to them. Moments later, the vases were back in their original position, one filled with marbles as it had been before shattering moments before.

Mai felt the power around Naru surge and covered it with the blanket again, almost automatically. She barely had to think about it.

"Please don't break the client's things," he said softly.

"Huh?" Mai whispered, turning to see the vases lifting and setting down on the table.

"I'm…sorry, Noll, I won't do it again…I think…" she whispered.

"Don't worry about it, Mai…when your powers are tied to your emotions, they're hard to control most of the time. You'll get used to it, eventually. Yours are only just waking up," Naru told her gently.

"Is this angle all right, Naru?" Lin's voice sounded from the radio, along with background noise of Ayako and Hosho having a very heated argument.

"Yes, that's much better, Lin," Naru told him after a moment. He turned, however, at hearing Mai groan. He saw her sinking down into her chair again, her hands at her head massaging her temples.

"Your headache came back…" he murmured. He could feel that blanket protecting him from the rebound of fixing the vases, and his eyes softened as he realized that it was Mai doing it.

"Just relax, ok?" he murmured, trying to repeat what she was doing to him, to her. He wanted to see if he could ease that pain she was feeling. He knew he shouldn't be pushing himself like this so soon after being out of the hospital…but at least he knew he'd sleep well later. He was beginning to feel tired.

Mai smiled gently up at him as she felt that blanket coming up over her in return, and her hand extended across the table to rest on his arm as she laid her head on her free arm.

"Thanks, Noll…" she whispered. Her head, though, was still killing her and she felt like she wanted to go to sleep.

"Go to sleep, Mai…I can handle this. You should rest," Naru told her, reaching back over and placing his hand on her head. "Go right ahead…you'll feel better when you wake up."

With a gentle little smile on her face, Mai sighed a bit and soon fell into sleep.

xXx

It was a couple of hours later that they had finished setting up all the cameras and Lin came with the others back to base.

"We're done, Naru," he said. He looked to the couch to see that Mai was laying on it once again, asleep, with his jacket over her. "Did you lay her down?"

Ayako went to go begin tidying up their boxes, Masako and John turning to help her. They hadn't figured out anything over the past couple of hours as to what was going on, and so the three of them had just dropped it.

Naru nodded. "All of Monk's yelling brought back her headache…" he told Lin, and the Chinaman sighed, shaking his head as he crossed to begin completely setting up the computer mainframe.

Naru looked over at Hosho then, who was just leaning on the wall over by the door.

"So I'd appreciate it if you were quiet from now on so that she can sleep," he said, sounding very protective.

Hosho just glared in response. He looked like he was about to flip the bird Naru's direction, but he didn't. He looked pissed off enough to attack him.

Ayako shook her head as she tidied up what was left of SPR's equipment.

"Oh, come off of it, both of you…Mai's perfectly capable of taking care of herself, and you're acting like she's no more than a trophy."

Naru blinked, looking to Ayako. He actually looked confused.

"You couldn't have it more wrong, Matsuzaki-chan. I'm not attracted to Mai," he said, very bluntly.

He then looked back to Hosho, and gave him a flat out glare. While _he_ might not be attracted to his baby sister, it was apparent that the older man was.

"Then if you aren't," John asked, "if you don't mind me asking, Naru…what is it, exactly? You and Mai are acting…different than you did before."

Lin sighed, his eyes slipping to Naru. Naru's eyes snapped to him at hearing the sound come from the normally silent man.

"I tried to get them to leave it alone, Naru," he told the man as he sat down at the computer, beginning to type on the keyboard to set everything up. "But they're too nosey for their own good."

"Hey!" Ayako hissed, sounding offended. "We just want to know what's going on." After she spoke, Mai gave off a grumbling sound in her sleep, turning so that her back was facing them. Lin immediately turned to look over at her to make sure she was still sleeping.

"Keep it down," Lin glared, looking towards Ayako. "All of you."

Naru sighed, a hand coming up to rub over his face.

"I guess if you're all going to be this pissy about it, I should just tell you and get it over with," he said, eyes closed. "And if you wake Mai up, I swear to every living thing on this earth that I will kill you all." He sounded dead serious until he turned to look at all of them before he spoke the words he knew that he'd probably regret.

"She's my sister."

"She's _WHAT_?!" all of those who didn't know practically shouted after this information had sunk in.

Mai jerked awake at hearing the shouts, groaning in annoyance and pain as her head began to pound the moment she was aware that she was awake.

Naru had sensed Mai waking before she had even made a sound. He glared at the others as he tried to soothe her headache with that blanket, his fists clenching at his sides. He could feel the energy raging around him, swirling and wanting to explode. He felt like he needed to break something. Through this, Mai was already spreading her calming, comforting blanket over Naru's raging energy.

"I told you all to shut up," he growled.

"Sister?!" Ayako and Hosho added in unison, still shocked.

Lin sighed as they shouted this, standing to head over to where Mai was. He leaned over her slightly, laying a hand on her arm.

"Lin…" she whispered, even though her eyes were closed.

"Yes?" he asked her quietly.

"Medicine…?"

"Of course, Mai," he said, standing to go over to a box that was on the computer table and picked a bottle out, bringing it back over with him, along with a bottle of water. "Here."

"Thanks…" she whispered. She didn't even seem aware of what was going on with the others. The only thing she was aware of was that they had woken her up with their shouting and started her off with a headache right away.

At seeing how much pain Mai appeared to be in, even so soon after waking up, Naru turned on the others.

"All of you, just go check the house," he snarled. "Do whatever…just get out of my sight."

Ayako squeaked and she scurried for the door, John soon behind. Masako slowly followed after them.

"Better yet," Lin called quietly to them, and Masako turned. He tossed her a thermometer and a pad of paper, "take the temperatures around the house."

Masako nodded before she walked out before Hosho stalked out after them.

"Okay, who the hell saw _that_ coming?" Ayako asked, raising an eyebrow as they walked down the corridor.

John shook his head. "I sure didn't."

"I sure as hell didn't…" Hosho said, looking confused. "I mean…they don't even look like they could be related…"

"Neither do my sister and I," John said.

"Yeah, but…your sister probably acts more like you do than those two back there," Hosho pointed out.

"I don't know…" Ayako was saying then. "Naru's changing…"

"Yeah, in case these past few days hasn't been clue enough," John agreed.

"But why," Masako asked as she checked the temperature and then wrote it down on the paper beside her, "is he changing now?"

Hosho shrugged.

"I dunno," he said with a sigh. After a few moments of silence, in which he thought, he spoke again.

"Finding out you suddenly have a sibling doesn't seem like enough of a deal to change you like that."

"I dunno…Naru is an orphan after all, and so is Mai," Ayako said.

"Naru's an orphan?" Hosho asked, his eyebrows knit together.

"You didn't hear Lin saying something about the professor back at the home with the demon? Those are his foster parents."

"It's still fishy, if you ask me," Hosho grumbled.

"What about it is fishy? It does make sense. They're both orphans, and Naru's this huge psychic guy who has a lot of power," Ayako pointed out.

"It does make sense," Masako sighed. "His parents probably didn't think that he was going to be safe around Mai…so they put him up for adoption when he was supposedly too young to remember. It was to keep Mai safe."

"But that's stupid!" John protested. Usually he didn't pass judgment on others, but this…this was just absurd. "I don't understand it at all. Why give up one of your children?"

"That's why I say it sounds fishy…what would be the real reason behind it?" Hosho questioned.

"There has to be something else we don't know," Ayako said. "It's like a piece of the puzzle is missing."

"We'll just have to figure it out, then," John said.

"Ten bucks says we don't find out," Ayako said, and John laughed, extending his hand. Generally, he looked down upon gambling or betting on anything, but he figured that now it wouldn't hurt to have even a little bit of fun.

"You're on."

"I'll take that bet, too," Hosho chuckled, and they all shook hands. He looked to Masako. "You want to take the bet, too?"

Masako turned her nose up at them.

"I do not like to participate in childish games," she said, her head turned off to the side.

Ayako rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Masako, just be a stick in the mud, like always."

Masako shot her a glare as Hosho turned to Ayako and poked her in the shoulder.

"You are _so_ gonna lose twenty bucks."

Ayako smirked a bit as they got back to work. "We'll see about that."

xXx

After they were gone, Naru had been just barely controlling the urge to use his power.

"Idiots…" he grumbled, and then went over to sit on the floor next to the couch.

"Go back to sleep, Mai…it's ok…" he whispered.

Mai opened her eyes and looked to him, lightly shaking her head.

"I tried, Noll," she whispered. "I'll just stay awake this time…"

"But your head…you should rest…" Naru murmured, his voice soft.

As he sat there, he was looking tired himself. Despite Mai's comforting and controlling of the backlash effect, Naru was still overextending himself. He hadn't used his powers very often at all since Gene had died.

And, he had just gotten out of the hospital, as well.

His powers were wearing on him.

"No…you should be the one resting…" Mai whispered as her hand came out from under the jacket. She gently placed it on his head and smiled. "You're the one who almost died three weeks ago."

"She is right, Naru," Lin told him, beginning to stand. "Come on, both of you. I'll bring you up to bed where Kuchinawa-san said we could stay. You should both be sleeping. I'll make sure things get settled down here."

"Sounds like a plan," Mai huffed as she began to carefully sit up.

Naru rubbed at his eyes a bit and nodded. He couldn't help it. He knew he was leaving the team in good hands with Lin here. Besides, he was tired.

He stood. "Alright," he mumbled.

"Alright, up you go," Lin said, picking Mai up into his arms so that they could go up the stairs easier. She leaned against his shoulder, looking sleepy already as he began to carry her up the stairs.

"Thank you," she whispered sleepily.

"Shhhh, Mai…just sleep," Lin whispered to her as he reached the top, turning to go to one of the guest rooms.

"Naru, you won't mind sharing a room with her, will you?" he asked in a whisper as he carefully laid Mai down on one of the four beds. She was already asleep. She snuggled into the pillow as he carefully pulled the covers up and over her.

Naru shook his head.

"Of course not," he said, yawning as he went over to one of the other three beds in the room, taking off his shoes before laying down.

"Thank you, Lin…" he murmured, knowing he would take care of the investigation while he slept.

"You're welcome," Lin said quietly as he walked back toward the door. "If you or Mai needs anything, Naru, all you have to do is say so. I'm going to set up a mic outside the room."

As he got to the door, he pulled it most of the way shut. He looked back inside to see that Naru was already out. With a sad smile, he turned off the light.

"Sleep well, old friend," he whispered before he turned to walk back down the hallway again.

* * *

Well, that's the beginning of the case! It gets waaaay better than this, and I'm so excited! I can't wait to put up the next chapter, because that's where the action begins!

I hope you all enjoyed.

Please review! I want more reviews!!

Thanks for reading!


	7. Chapter 7

Okay guys, I'm so so so very sorry it took me so long to get this started up again…my computer crashed and I lost everything, so…I had to start everything over again. Again, sorry it's taken so long!

To make up for the wait, I'm going to do my best to get the next chapter up soon! Enjoy!!

Thank you to those who reviewed: **Kimmiiee**, **fallenangelofheven**, **Crimsonphoenix271**, and **EmeraldStar-goddess**.

* * *

_**Chapter 7**_

It was much later that night when Naru woke. He was thirsty, his mouth and throat almost hurting it was so dry.

He sat up in bed, and looked over.

Mai was still asleep… that was good. She needed the rest.

But…

He blinked.

"Get away from her…" he growled. There was a spirit looming over Mai's bed, and not a friendly one at that.

It was only a few seconds later that there was running footsteps in the hallway and the door was thrown open.

After a loud whistle, a white bolt shot through the room from the door to the spirit. It let out a silent scream and, with an audible growl, the figure disappeared, and the white orb headed back for the door.

Lin stood there, his chest heaving with how fast he'd run up the stairs to reach the room quickly.

"Are you all right, Naru?" Lin asked as he walked into the room. Mai hadn't woken up through any of this at all, and was still asleep in her bed.

Though…she wasn't really sleeping well.

"_Mai, you have to wake up."_

_Mai blinked. She was in that black void again, but standing beside her was Gene.  
_

"_Gene…" Mai whispered. He grabbed her arm and she gasped at the sudden motion.  
_

"_Mai, you have to wake up. Masako, Hosho and Ayako are about to be killed."  
_

"_What?!" Mai gasped, her eyes growing huge. "But they're - "  
_

"_Wake up, Mai!" Gene nearly growled at her. Mai jumped at the harshness in his voice…that was the first time Gene actually ever reminded her of Naru. "You have to save them! They're going to be killed!"  
_

"_Where are they?!" Mai shrieked.  
_

"_About to go into the daughter's room! Go, now! Wake __**up**__, Mai!"_

xXx

"I'm fine, just thirs-" Naru had been in the middle of saying when Mai suddenly awoke with a gasp, sitting straight up.

"Masako! Ayako! _Monk_!" she screamed, trying to get out of bed to run to them, but she stumbled with her broken ankle and tripped, falling to the floor.

"Mai!" Lin called as he stood, about to run over to her.

"I'm fine! Masako, Ayako and Monk! They're going to be killed! Hurry, Lin, go! The daughter's room!" Mai shrieked and Lin turned to run out the door.

"Stay here!" he yelled over his shoulder.

Meanwhile, right outside of the daughter's room, Hosho gave a sigh.

"You aren't scared are you?" Ayako asked, standing right behind him. The three of them had decided it might be a good idea to try and exorcize a few of the spirits in the room, and quiet the house a little more. Hosho and Masako had felt especially uneasy the past few hours.

"No," Hosho huffed defiantly. He was in his robes.

"I just, needed a moment…this place is making me feel kind of sick…" he muttered.

"Excuses, excuses…are you going to do this or not?"

Hosho frowned at her, reaching over to open the door. Annoyed, he stepped inside, and immediately felt as if he'd been punched in the gut. He doubled over, falling to his knees. The presence in the room hadn't felt this strong before…not at all.

"What…the hell?" he grumbled, feeling as if his lungs were compressing. Why was it so hard to breathe suddenly?

"Monk…hey, you ok?" Ayako asked, moving to step forward, but before she could, Hosho pushed her back out of the way, and slid the door closed again with his foot. He wasn't going to let the others get hurt for this.

"Get out of the way!"

Ayako and Masako turned to see Lin running down the hallway toward them.

"Monk!" he growled, trying to open the door, but it wouldn't open. "Dammit, Monk!"

He began to kick at the door, trying to get it to open.

Inside the room, something began to attack the young monk viciously. It seemed to only want to kill him, whatever it was.

Hosho hated to admit to it, hated to say it, but…it hurt.

Hosho couldn't even cast warding spells. He didn't have enough air to even mumble the chants, and he wasn't being given enough time.

Outside, the others could probably hear his grunts and protests of pain as he was practically tossed around the room like a rag doll.

He'd never experienced anything like this…it just felt so powerful.

And then, suddenly, it all just stopped. He looked up, and instead of one spirit…the one of the man that had been bothering the client's daughter…there were two.

At least, he thought there were two…

"…Naru?" he murmured, and just afterward, he passed out.

xXx

Back in Mai and Naru's bedroom, Naru blinked as he felt a sudden wave of energy radiating from the daughter's room.

"Gene…" he murmured, eyes wide. He scooped Mai up into his arms and ran toward the girl's room.

"Lin, you should be able to open the door now!" he shouted as soon as he saw the others.

He'd felt Gene…more than he usually did after he or someone else had had one of the dreams where his spirit manifested itself.

Had Gene acted on his and Mai's will to help their friend and momentarily driven away the spirit? Naru would have been amazed for his brother to have enough power for that, after all of this time…but, then again…it was HIS brother, after all.

Lin, as soon as he was sure it was safe, threw the door open.

"Monk!" he yelled as he ran over to the man. There was blood over him everywhere. He didn't appear to be too bad, but he had so many cuts at least…

"Lin, get out of there!!" Mai shrieked. Lin looked up and saw the spirit of the man once again, his hands clenched in angry fists. He grabbed Hosho and ran for the door, just barely managing to get out of it before it slammed shut again.

"No one is to go in there through the rest of the investigation!" he growled. "Does everyone understand me?! That is not a request! It is an _order_!"

As he did this, he worked to try and stop the bleeding on Hosho and find any broken bones. When he had found all that he thought was there, he looked up at Naru. "Can you fix them?" he asked quietly.

Mai, though, was fighting to get out of her brother's arms. When she managed it, she sat awkwardly on the floor beside Hosho and put a hand on his arm, the first break that Lin had found and she tried to imagine it mending itself, putting itself back in place.

"What's going on?" another voice asked, and Ayako finally turned, her face pale, to see the man running towards them, his wife, with their daughter in her arms, staying in their doorway behind him. "What's happened?"

"The monk tried to cleanse some of the spirits out of your daughter's room and was attacked," Naru said, sighing. "We had warned him not to go alone…but that sort of assault would have been too much for any of us to take…even in pairs."

"He should be alright, none of the wounds are life-threatening," he added. "You should all go back to bed."

"He'll be alright; you should go back to bed. It seems that your daughter's room is the malignant spirit's territory…so you should be alright in your room," John told the man and his wife, trying to be reassuring.

"Al…alright…" Kuchinawa whispered, watching them all for a moment before he turned to walk back to his bedroom and shut the door behind him.

As Naru sat there, he tried to help Mai heal the breaks in Hosho's bones.

The monk was just lying still, and the only movement in him was his breathing.

"…I shouldn't have egged him on like this…he said he'd been having bad feelings…" Ayako murmured.

"It's not your fault," Masako said. "He could have still backed down.

Naru was breathing heavily as he continued to help Mai heal Hosho's wounds.

_Naru…you're tired…you shouldn't be doing this. It's just going to drain you more,_ he could hear Gene's voice, but it was weak right now. He didn't blame the spirit for being tired. He had held off the man as long as he could, and even allowed Lin to get to Hosho and get out of the room… just barely. Anyone would be tired after that.

As soon as the last of Hosho's bones had been mended, Mai collapsed on top of Monk, completely out, herself.

Lin checked her vitals, remembering when they were kids and Naru and Gene had had their first experiences with their powers. She seemed to be fine, though, and he carefully stood with her in his arms. He handed her off to Ayako.

"Bring her back to bed," he ordered and the woman nodded before doing just that. "And stay with her, if you wouldn't mind." Again, a nod as the woman walked briskly down the hall. He looked up at Naru. "You go back to bed, as well. I'll bring you something to drink." He then sighed and worked to pick up Hosho, but he couldn't. With John's help, he managed to carry Hosho back into Naru and Mai's room. They laid him on the bed and as John worked to begin cleaning his wounds, Lin left. He returned a few minutes later with Naru's drink, setting it on the bedside table before crossing the room again to help John with Hosho.

Naru was sitting on his bed, as he'd been told, when Lin came back. He drank what Lin had brought him, and sat up watching.

He was worried… not as worried as maybe Mai was, or any of the others, but still worried.

And then, despite his best efforts, and wanting to make sure that Hosho was alright, his eyes began to close.

He blinked, and looked to the drink that Lin had brought him when he'd set it down. It was cooled tea in a glass, nothing seemingly abnormal with it… but on closer inspection, it was fizzing slightly, something that tea, no matter how it was made, shouldn't do.

Lin had drugged him, just to get him to sleep….

And, a few moments later, after a groaned protest from Naru, it worked.

"Lin…"

The older man lifted his head as he heard John's shocked voice, looking away from making sure that Naru was asleep.

"What?" he asked, but then he saw it. Around one of Hosho's arms, there was a handmark burned into his skin. There were also ones on the top of his chest, his shoulders, his legs, his arms and even one on his neck that laced up onto his cheek. "What the hell…"

"I don't think we're dealing with your run of the mill angry spirit, here," John whispered as he went back to cleaning the cuts. "There's something more going on here that we think."

Lin stood there, though, and picked up one of Hosho's arms to look more closely at burn mark he could see there. The skin looked angry and red, looking like charred flesh, but it wasn't bleeding. He put his hand over the mark, and whispered, "This man's hand was large…" It was larger than his. He slowly pulled his hand back and sighed, looking up at John, who was watching him. "Is there anything you can do?"

John shook his head. "No…I'm no healer, Lin, none of us could heal this…the only thing I could do is make sure that there is no evil in these wounds that can further harm him."

"Do it," Lin said and John took off to run and grab his bible and holy water.

Hosho had stayed still as John had taken off his robes to clean out all of his cuts. The man, unconscious as he was, hadn't protested in the least, until Lin had laid his hand on the burned hand print on his arm.

He hissed, his face tensing in pain. And then he stilled again as his arm was laid back down.

John looked sad as he readied his holy water and his bible. He'd never had to perform and exorcism on a friend before. Sure, it had been hard enough on the children in the orphanage… but this was completely different.

"In the name of the father," he began, feeling that it would be best to try and take out any of the evil in the individual wounds than trying to exorcize everything in Hosho all at once. It may lead to himself becoming more tired, or Hosho being rather sore depending on how much malignant energy was in each of those wounds, but, it was better than missing something.

He made the cross over one of the prints on Hosho's chest "and of the son, and of the holy spirit," he went on.

Hosho hissed again then, face grimacing. "John… Ow…. what the… what the hell, man… that hurts." he growled, his eyes still closed.

John just sighed. He was sorry, but couldn't say that and risk messing up the exorcism. On top of that, he couldn't be sure that it was really Hosho, and not one of the spirits speaking through him that was saying these things. He closed his eyes so he wouldn't have to see the look on Hosho's face as he continued.

"Our father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name," John began, and then splashed some water on the mark. "In the beginning, there was the word and the word was with god, and the word was god."

He then pulled a cross from his pocket and placed it on the hand mark. It didn't leave an imprint, but John could feel the evil leaving the wound…and he could feel that there was a lot of it that had left. He swallowed as he felt Hosho thrash a bit, as though the rest of the evil in him was aggitated that some of it had been driven out.

He quickly and silently said a prayer asking for the strength to continue with what he had to do, and after a moment he continued, proceeding with the same prayer for each hand mark.

And then, when he was done, he let out a shaking breath and looked up at Lin.

"I'm finished…" he whispered.

Hosho was shaking slightly as John ended his exorcism. The monk looked trained. He'd even been screaming through the process.

"Thank you," Lin said, glad that the monk's screaming was over. He motioned to the free bed. "Go to sleep." He crossed over to Naru's bed and pulled the young man's sheets up and over him. "If you need anything, just say my name. I'll be here within a few seconds."

"But what about you? You shouldn't be alone," John protested.

"Masako is downstairs by herself right now. Besides, I have my shiki with me. I will be fine. You sleep. We have work to do tomorrow."

And then he walked out, leaving no room for question.

Ayako sighed as she watched Lin walk out.

"What a great job this is turning out to be…" she murmured, walking over to where Hosho was laying on his bed, and covered him up. Since they'd had to remove his robes, he'd been left in his boxers, and had to be cold by now.

"You shouldn't have gone in, stupid monk…" she murmured.

They looked like they were in bad shape. Mai was still hurting, and Naru was still weak from his hospital stay. Monk could have been killed by a spirit, and John had already had to perform and exorcism on one of his good friends.

That left a medium, herself, and an onmiyoji that they could rely on through the night, and who knew how well Hosho was going to recover…this was definitely turning out to be a bad idea.

xXx

The next morning, Naru woke with a slight headache. He was thirsty, and reached out for the glass on the table next to his bed, but then shrunk his hand back away from it.

Lin had drugged it.

He sighed, and moved to get up. He slipped back into his shoes, and spared a glance over to the other beds. It was still sort of early, so he wasn't surprised when he saw that Mai was still asleep, and that Ayako had also fallen asleep, her head on the empty space of the bed next to where Hosho was laying, a cool cloth over his eyes.

John was still asleep too. That part did strike him as a bit odd.

_Your friend had to perform an exorcism on the monk last night. It drained both of them._

"Thanks for the update." Naru murmured to his invisible mirror image. However, he had something else he had to take care of.

_Don't be mad at Lin, Noll…he only did it to make sure you would rest…_ But Naru was already on his way down the stairs to the room where Lin had set up base last night.

"You drugged me." he growled. "I'd ask if I could have something to drink, but now I don't know if I could trust you with it."

Lin was typing on his computer. He didn't even turn around as the young man said this to him, only continued typing. It seemed that he knew what he'd done.

Behind him, there was a pot of tea with a steaming cup beside it. Masako lifted her head, and she said, "I made the tea. You don't have to worry."

She offered him the cup. "Good morning, Naru."

Naru sighed, and took the cup of tea. "Thank you, good morning, Hara-chan." he added, and took a sip of the tea.

It was good, relaxing, but definitely _not_ drugged.

His anger melted away as the warm liquid worked to sooth him, as it usually did.

After a moment, he moved over to where Lin was sitting.

"Did anything happen last night other than Monk being attacked?" he asked.

"There were temperature drops all around the house, but especially in the daughter's room," Lin said. "It dropped well below freezing a few times."

He then looked back at Naru and said, "But this is what gets me. The camera actually caught the feed of Monk being attacked."

"It did?" Masako asked as she stood up, going over to where he was queuing up a tape for Naru to see.

"Yes, and the end is the shocker," he said as he played it. Masako lifted a hand up to her mouth as she watched Hosho get thrown around like he was nothing but a feather, eventually turning her back on the brutal scene.

Naru, on the surface, didn't look at all perturbed by watching Hosho getting tossed around like that. Under the surface, however, as much as he wasn't happy about Hosho trying to get his sisters attention, and even though he knew the man was relatively alright now, he still hated seeing that.

And then, Lin paused it right after the monk stopped moving, and was only laying there. "Here."

He pointed to near the door, where a second figure stood.

Naru looked where Lin indicated as the scene froze, leaning closer to the screen over Lin's shoulder to see it more clearly.

"Look familiar?" he whispered into Naru's ear.

There, almost as if he were really standing there… as if it was himself standing there and trying to shield Hosho from the attack, was Gene.

"He shouldn't be able to manifest like that so long after…." he murmured, biting his lip, his eyes going sad.

"… he really stepped in to…"

He looked away then, closing his eyes, and taking deep breaths. He had to regain his composure.

But Gene had really been there.

He really shouldn't be able to do that. It had been way too long since he'd been killed for him to have that amount of power.

"Could he have been borrowing it from Mai or myself?" he wondered aloud. It just wasn't making sense.

Lin shook his head. "Our powers don't work that way, even between siblings, Naru, you know that," he whispered to him. "If he had, your wouldn't even be awake now. You would be exhausted."

"Noll…"

Lin's eyes immediately went to the speakers, and then to the screen. He didn't see anything, though. Mai was still sleeping, from what he could see, on the camera feed.

Naru blinked. He'd immediately looked to Mai as well when he'd heard the voice.

That wasn't a name any of the others knew, especially not one that they knew he would go by.

"Gene?" he asked, looking at each video feed in turn to see if he could spot the apparition of his brother. Other than in the frozen frame of the attack on Hosho, though, Gene's figure didn't appear.

Besides, the video was showing from last night, and had been paused. The voice couldn't have come from there.

Could it have?

"… Are you sure I'm even awake now, Lin?" Naru asked his older friend. "Because this certainly feels like a dream."

Though Naru had experienced many weird things in his time as a paranormal investigator, most of it while searching for any clue of his brother's whereabouts…or even that of his body…this one right now certainly took the cake.

"If you're not awake, then I'm not, either. I've been awake all night," Lin told him as he, too, looking around on the camera

"…help…"

_That_ definitely was Mai's voice, though. Lin looked to the camera again, but Mai was still sleeping. He was immediately up, though, sensing that something was wrong, and dashed from the room and up the stairs.

"Mai?!" Naru murmured, and then took off after Lin.

What was going on?

When they'd reached the room where he, Hosho, John, Ayako and Mai had slept last night, he went right over to his sister's bed.

Everyone was still sleeping, it seemed.

"Mai?" he asked shaking her shoulder. Something didn't feel right, and she seemed to not be waking up.

"Mai."

Mai's eyes immediately snapped open when Naru grabbed her shoulders.

Her hand went up to grab his arm, her eyes growing huge.

"Lin!" she gasped, looking over his shoulder.

"What, Mai?" Lin asked from where he stood by the door, looking around. "What is it?"

But then, he was shoved backward out the door by something they couldn't see.

"_LIN_!" she screamed, sitting bolt up right.

John jerked awake, as did Ayako, at Mai's screams.

Seeing Lin get shoved out of the room, Naru moved to stand.

"Don't, Noll!" Mai shrieked, grabbing his arm to pull him back, as John and Ayako ran for the door ahead of him. Just as they got to it, though, it slammed shut.

"LIN!" Naru shouted as Mai grabbed him. "Mai… no… let me go…" he murmured.

Naru tried, but he couldn't really fight her, a testament to just how tired he still was, just how drained using his powers the day before had made him.

But he didn't want to just sit by and take this. Monk had already been hurt, he wasn't going to let Lin be hurt too. Lin was the only real friend he had…if Mai was excluded, of course, on the basis that they were related.

He stood there, making a sign with his hands similar to those that Mai had learned from Hosho and Ayako already.

_Noll…don't do it….he'll come after you next._

Naru stopped halfway through, sighing. He didn't want to stop…but Gene didn't want him to use it…so he didn't.

John fought to open the door, Ayako soon joining him.

Mai watched, terror on her face, as she heard Lin's loud whistle, but it was cut off near the end with what sounded like a gurgle. And then, after a moment, the door slid open with ease and John stumbled out.

Lin lay on the floor, gasping for breath. There was blood trickling from his mouth, and one of his arms was lying at a weird angle. There were hand prints, identical to Hosho's, on his arms and around his throat.

Naru's eyes widened. He'd never seen Lin like that, and it hurt. But then he felt something trying to comfort him. He felt like he couldn't move, like he was just too heavy to do anything.

He could only watch as Ayako went over to Lin and pulled him farther into the room, and rested him on his back so that John could more easily get to the hand prints across his body and drive out the spirit.

"Your shiki drove it off for now, right?" Ayako asked him.

"John…get it out of me…!" Lin hissed, rubbing at one of the hand marks, seemingly dismissing what Ayako had just asked him.

"What?" John asked, blinking, not understanding.

"Get it out!" Lin roared, and John understood. He ran back into the room to grab his bible and the holy water.

And suddenly, Naru realized that not everyone was there.

Masako was still downstairs.

"Take care of Lin." he said, breathlessly, and then looked over to Mai.

"I'll be back…Hara-chan is alone downstairs," he explained, figuring she was the main force in trying to get him to calm so he wouldn't use his powers.

Masako needed help though. There was no way around that.

With one last look at Lin, Naru turned and ran out of the door and for the stairs.

Lin had his fists and jaw clenched, trying to control himself.

"Hurry, John," Lin growled.

"I'm going, Lin…I'm sorry in advance for any pain I might be causing you," John said as he began to exorcise the wounds.

But then, as soon as Naru was out of his sight, he couldn't help but scream against the pain. He, unlike Hosho, was awake during this process.

John was performing the exorcisms as he had on Hosho last night. He had to concentrate more now, as he was already drained from the activity of the night before. However, he knew he had to hurry and get the spirit out of Lin.

He didn't know what would happen if he didn't.

Meanwhile, downstairs, Masako looked up at Naru as he bolted into the room. She looked frightened from where she had been seated in front of the computer monitors.

"Naru, what has happened?" she asked him. She was shaking, and looking sick.

"Lin was just attacked upstairs." Naru told Masako as soon as he got into the room.

"Are you alright, Hara-chan? Has anything come down here?" he asked, voice tense.

He could hear Lin screaming… the microphone was picking it up, amplifying it even more.

He couldn't stand that blood-curdling sound.

But he had to focus. He had to focus on right here, otherwise…

He couldn't let his fear control his power.

"No, Naru, I am fine," Masako whispered. She was trembling. "Nothing has happened down here at all…"

She looked towards the cameras and then back at him. "I don't think the spirits like it down here…none of them have come down here since we arrived last night other than the one climbing the front steps…bring them all down here, its safe down here…"

Just as she said this, Mai's voice was louder than Lin's screams, which were becoming louder and more hoarse as time went by…but it seemed Mai had moved right up against it.

"Noll…hey, Gene said it's safe downstairs, for now…"

"See?" Masako asked, gesturing towards the cameras. "Let us bring everyone down here…"

Naru nodded. "Alright." he said, knowing that Mai wouldn't hear him.

He looked down at Masako then.

"It's your choice whether to stay here or to come up with me," he said, before heading toward the stairs.

When he got there…Lin's screams were finally ending. The man was trembling, his eyes clenched shut. Ayako was trying to soothe him as John began to shakily stand, himself.

"If it's alright to move them, John, we're heading downstairs," he told the Australian, moving over to help Mai off of the bed.

"Yes…we can move them…" John whispered, sounding out of breath.

"Hara-chan says the only spiritual activity is in the upstairs part of the house anyway, everyone should be safer," Naru said as he handed Mai her crutches.

"I can walk," Lin hissed gruffly as Ayako tried to help him stand. "You get Monk…"

"But Lin-"

"I said I can walk," Lin growled at her, beginning to slowly make his way down the hallway, holding one of his arms to his chest as he did, his body still shaking and trembling violently as he walked.

"Don't be stubborn…" Naru said as he caught up to Lin.

"You just summoned your shiki, were attacked by a spirit, and had an exorcism performed on you. When we get you to base, you're laying down on the couch," he said, leaving no room for argument as he supported Lin, not letting his friend move away.

"I'll see if I can set your arm later," he added.

Once they were to base, Lin did as Naru told him and laid on one of the couches. It was odd for him not to argue, though. He was just as stubborn as Naru was.

Naru followed Lin over to the couch, and sat down at his side. He placed a hand on Lin's obviously broken arm, and began to focus his energy on it. He didn't care if it hurt him, or if it wiped him out. Lin was his friend, and he didn't want him to be in pain.

Once the bone was set, he stood, and sighed. He took stock of what was going on.

Lin was resting after his ordeal, and he watched as John walked in to collapse onto one of the couches and promptly fell asleep. Naru couldn't blame him, considering he had just performed two very active exorcisms, and as Ayako came in, she was supporting most of Hosho's weight, leading the monk to the couch as Mai stepped into the room behind them, crutching her way over to a seat. She chose Lin's chair by his computer, probably without realizing it, and Ayako was beside Hosho, trying to make him comfortable and replacing the compress over his eyes.

Has he did this, Naru was swaying a bit on his feet, and Masako seemed to be doing the same thing he was…evaluating the situation.

"I think, for the sake of the client and his family, we're going to have to send them away when they get home," he murmured. "This spirit is just too dangerous. It's already hurt Monk and Lin, and we know it prefers upstairs. Down here is the safest place to be. While we're trying to figure this out we can't watch them every second of the day. It's in their best interest to leave until we have this solved."

He spoke in a very finite manner.

"Monk may have to leave as well," he added.

Ayako looked over at him then.

"Oh, that's smart, send home one of the more powerful ones on the team," she said sarcastically.

"He can't do much like this, now can he?" Naru asked heatedly, glaring over at her. He was not in the mood to argue.

"You can't send him back…not like this, at least wait until he wakes up and let him have a say in the matter."

"If you send him away…you'll have to send me, as well."

Naru turned to look over at Lin, blinking, his annoyance gone. Had Lin really just said that?

Lin was lying on the couch, his arm over his eyes to keep the light out. Though Naru hadn't seen it because he'd left, there were hand prints all over him, as well. He just wasn't as cut up as Hosho had been.

"I will not send you home, Lin," Naru said, swaying a bit more on his feet.

Masako crossed the room to steady Naru, carefully pushing him down into the armchair beside the couch Lin was on.

"Right now, I think the best thing that any of us can do is rest," she said, looking around at them all. "The spirit is in hiding right now, and the others are all upstairs…most are trapped in the daughter's room. We are safe here, for the time being."

Mai nodded.

"Noll, you should rest," she told him softly.

"But someone has to stay awake…." Naru murmured.

"Didn't you just get done telling Lin not to be stubborn?" Ayako asked. "Rest, Naru. You're not superhuman. You did almost die a week and a half ago. You probably shouldn't even be here, more than the rest of us."

Naru gave her a tired glare.

"You know it's true."

She looked back to Hosho. She was still feeling really badly, even though she knew she wasn't responsible for his wounds.

He groaned a bit.

She put a hand over the compress on his eyes and chanted under her breath. The house, luckily, was near the forest, so she could draw power from the trees nearby to calm whatever was agitating Hosho.

He stilled a moment later.

Masako let out a breath in a sigh.

"I'm going to stay awake. Nothing has happened to me, and I got a full nights rest," Masako told them. "And," she smiled at Naru and everyone, "I can scream loud enough to wake the spirits. That should be loud enough to wake you if need be."

"See, Noll?" Mai asked, smiling at Naru. "You can go to sleep."

_And you __**should**__ be sleeping, Noll_, Gene's gentle voice chided in Naru's mind.

Naru sighed.

"Fine, fine," he grumbled. He couldn't say no when both of his siblings were ganging up on him like this.

"I'll be awake, as well…I slept through most of the night without incident, so you don't have to worry." Ayako agreed. "The girls will hold down the fort."

"That makes me feel so much better…" Naru grumbled in mock-sarcasm.

Ayako glared defiantly at him, but she said nothing else.

Naru sighed and curled up a bit in his chair before falling asleep. He couldn't have helped it if he tried; he was just far too exhausted. It wasn't that long at all before he was down and out for the count.

* * *

I hope you guys enjoyed it! More reviews means that it'll come out faster!


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